Argentinian giants River Plate have won their long-awaited third Copa Libertadores after cruising past Mexican side UANL Tigres 3-0 at the Estadio Monumental on Wednesday night.
A brilliant header from Lucas Alario just before half-time finally gave River the advantage after a goalless draw had been played out in the first-leg, a Carlos Sánchez penalty fifteen minutes from time and another header from Ramiro Funes Mori gave Los Millonarios their first Libertadores title since 1996.
Marcelo Gallardo’s side have also entered the history books by achieving the rare feat of holding South America’s two biggest trophies, the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana, simultaneously. Tigres become the third Mexican side to finish as tournament runner-up, after Cruz Azul and Chivas Guadalajara both came agonisingly close to becoming the first Mexican club to win the Libertadores in 2001 and 2010 respectively.
A dull 0-0 draw in Mexico in the first-leg saw River enter the return fixture with a crucial home advantage at the Estadio Monumental de Nuñez. The atmosphere before kick-off was typically spine-tingling, but the first-half did not quite provide the scintillating attacking football both sides were more than capable of. Liga MX high-flyers Tigres had the better of the chances in the opening 45, but it would be River Plate new boy Lucas Alario who would open the scoring, with a sumptuous header on the stroke of half-time that sent the Monumental into deafening jubilation.
Expensive Tigres signings André-Pierre Gignac and Jürger Damm failed to muster many clear cut chances after the break, and the second-half would carry on in similar fashion to the first, this was not the pulsating, end-to-end final that many would have predicted. River looked to have the momentum to be able to keep their single-goal lead until the final whistle, and they dually doubled their advantage through a Carlos Sánchez penalty fifteen minutes from time to effectively end the tie.
The Libertadores looked as if it would be staying in Argentina after San Lorenzo won the tournament in 2014, and River ultimately put the result beyond doubt four minutes later when Ramiro Funes Mori’s thumping header sealed a deserved 3-0 win for Los Millonarios. Despite the 3-0 score line, the match will certainly not be remembered as classic, but it will do little to deter boss Marcelo Gallardo, who was one of the key players of the club’s last Libertadores-winning side in 1996 that also featured the likes of Hernán Crespo, Ariel Ortega, Enzo Francescoli and Pablo Aimar.
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