Under the watchful eye of mobster Claudio "Chiqui" Tapia, Estudiantes defeated the corrupt AFA system. The team from La Plata prevailed in the penalty shootout against Racing at the Madre de Ciudades de Santiago del Estero and claimed the 2025 Torneo Clausura.
In the opening minutes, what had been anticipated beforehand occurred: a hard-fought duel with no clear dominant side; nevertheless, that situation did not prevent dangerous plays, especially from Academia's side. In the 11th minute, Nardoni took a long-range shot that went high and, later, Vergara intercepted a clearance from Pincha's defense, but his finish was far off target.
Meanwhile, Estudiantes also had their opportunities. First, in the 24th minute, Palacios threatened with a shot over Cambeses's goal and, less than 5 minutes later, Carillo had a one-on-one with Cambeses himself, who managed to clear and save his team.
At the same time, the match had its rough moments. In the 33rd minute, Román Gómez committed a hard foul on Vergara and received the first yellow card of the match. Later, Carillo was also booked for an elbow to Colombo, as was Palacios, who near the end of the first half grabbed Almendra to prevent a potentially dangerous counterattack from Racing. With no further highlights, except for an isolated shot from Cetré, the final went to halftime.
Right at the start of the second half, Maravilla Martínez hit Núñez off the ball and was cautioned, the first for Academia. Moments later, Pincha threatened with a dangerous attack led by Palacios, who almost assisted Carillo in the six-yard box if not for Mura's timely clearance.
With a highly contested match and no attacking projection from either side, the game once again became bogged down in physical battles. In the 69th minute, Colombo saw yellow for a foul on Carillo. In an attempt to break this deadlock, both coaches made substitutions: Domínguez took off Palacios (injured) for Tobio Burgos, while Costas brought on Conechny and Adrián Martínez for Solari and Almendra, respectively.
However, that monotony came to an end thanks to Maravilla Martínez, who beat Núñez to the ball and finished with great class over Muslera to make it 1-0 for Racing.
Immediately after, Estudiantes made more emergency changes to try to level the score: Meza and Alario for Piovi and Román Gómez, and then Benedetti and Sosa for Arzamendia and Medina. Meanwhile, Racing made two more substitutions: Pardo and Martirena for Mura and Vergara.
The changes had an immediate impact. Sosa himself took a free kick near the corner that found Carrillo's head, who tied the game with 3 minutes left. With no further changes to the score, aside from a yellow card for Pardo, the match went to extra time.
Clearly affected by fatigue, both teams reduced their attacking efforts, and when they did attack, they were largely ineffective. At the same time, Estudiantes used up their substitutions with the entry of Facundo Rodríguez for Núñez, while Racing made their fifth change with Zucullini for Nardoni. As for chances, there was one significant opportunity for each side: Alario with a high header and Colombo with a long-range shot.
