River regained some tranquility. After several matches with irregular performances, especially the last one against San Lorenzo, the Millonario won with a decent performance against Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata by 2-0 at the Estadio Monumental and qualified for the semifinals of the 2026 Apertura Tournament.
In the first minutes, the home team would control possession, although without many chances to worry the visitors, who quickly attacked as soon as they regained the ball. In this scenario, Lobo would have the first clear chance of the match at the 9th minute, with a recovery in midfield by Ignacio Miramón that ended in a shot by Marcelo Torres from the right side of the area to the near post of Santiago Beltrán, who sent it to the corner.
After several attempts, finally at 26, the goal would open up for River. Acuña would send a long pass to Facundo Colidio, who would chip the defender Germán Conti and, without touching the ground, assist Sebastián Driussi, who struck a powerful left-footed shot from the middle of the area that nailed the ball into the right corner of Insfrán for the 1-0.
Despite the joy of taking the lead, River would lose one of the key players of the match. A few minutes after Driussi's goal, Acuña would feel discomfort and lose the substitution, being replaced by Matías Viña. Thus, River would lose both of their starting full-backs, as, prior to the match, Gonzalo Montiel had been unable to play due to an injury during warm-up, being substituted by Fabricio Bustos in the starting XI.
Beyond a controversy over a headbutt by Miramón on Viña, which could have meant a red card for Gimnasia, but the referee Leandro Rey Hilfer only issued a yellow, the match would go to halftime without any new incidents to highlight.
In the second half, although Lobo would come out determined to seek the equalizer, it would be the Núñez team that would have the clearest opportunities, like a shot from Colidio that Insfrán easily saved. Despite this situation, at 55, the La Plata team had the equalizer on the head of Conti, but Beltrán would clear it with a swipe.
Shortly after, Driussi would score his personal double, although it would be disallowed for an offside by Santiago Lencina, who had provided the assist. Finally, the 2-0 for La Banda would come at the 20-minute mark of the second half. Lucas Martínez Quarta would carry the ball almost from his own area to three-quarters of the field, where he would pass it to Joaquín Freitas, who would then return it with a cross that the defender would capitalize on with a header against the late exit of Insfrán to extend the lead.
Clearly affected by the score, Gimnasia would start to become impatient, wasting promising plays and leaving spaces in the back that their rival took advantage of to try for a rout, largely avoided thanks to Insfrán. Although they came close to scoring towards the end with three clear chances (a header off the post from Manuel Panaro, who would later have a one-on-one with Beltrán, and a missed shot from Agustín Auzmendi near the goal), Lobo would not manage to turn the tide.
With this result, River advanced to the semifinals of the 2026 Apertura Tournament, where they will face Rosario Central, who qualified after defeating Racing in extra time by 2-1 at the Gigante de Arroyito. The match that will determine one of the two finalists of the tournament (the other will come from the winner of the tie between Belgrano and Argentinos Juniors) will be played on Saturday, May 17 at the Monumental, with time to be confirmed.
