After the authorities denied River Plate’s request to include an emergency academy goalkeeper for their Copa Libertadores tie against Santa Fe, midfielder Enzo Perez decided to take up the gloves. He was named the man of the match in a 2-1 win.
Perez, who has had stints in Europe with Benfica and Valencia, played in goal from the start after the Argentinian giants had the request to include an emergency backup goalkeeper denied. They still ended up winning the match 2-1!
A Covid outbreak brought Marcelo Gallardo’s team to its knees. When he announced his team sheet for their Copa Libertadores match against Santa Fe, one could find no signs of a goalkeeper. Furthermore, River Plate had such a shortage of players that they only named an eleven for the match, without a bench or reserves. The eleven players named started and finished the match.
River Plate took the lead against Santa Fe in the third minute of the match through Fabrizio Angileri. Astonishingly, they doubled their advantage just three minutes later when Julian Alvarez scored the second goal of the match. Perez performed admirably at the other end and even played through a hamstring injury.
He was unable to keep a clean sheet as Santa Fe pulled one back through Kelvin Osorio in the 73rd minute. Nevertheless, River Plate kept their nerves and won the match. Subsequently, Perez was presented with the Man of the Match award.
A win takes Gallardo’s side to the top of their Libertadores group. The win against Santa Fe proved to be crucial, especially as Junior FC beat Fluminense in the other group game, taking them to six points. River Plate are currently on nine with one more match left to play. They will take on Fluminense in their final group game, which is scheduled to take place on May 25-26.
