Argentina Superliga round one: High scoring affairs and Boca impress early on

The Argentina Primera División or the Superliga, as it’s now called, is finally back. As always many European clubs were looking to strengthen their sides with talented youngsters from Argentina. Estudiantes’ young defensive midfielder Santiago Ascacibar left for VfB Stuttgart in Germany and both Rigoni and Driussi were sold to Zenit in Russia. It was a very entertaining opening round of the Superliga so let’s get straight into the results!

The Superliga kicked off on Friday with Tigre hosting Velez. Velez were looking for reinforcements up front after Pavone left El Fortin for Estudiantes. River Plate loanee Andrada and Jonathan Cristaldo joined Velez but it was Maxi Romero who stole the show against Tigre. Maxi Romero is a well-known name in the Football Manager community and proved that he indeed has a lot of talent. The 18-year old scored a brace in a 0-3 victory as Tigre were brushed aside in the second half.

Banfield outdid themselves last season as they qualified for the Copa Libertadores. Following their good season, some talented youngsters like Cecchini left the club.However, Taladro started the season well with a 3-1 win over Belgrano. Former Ajax striker Dario Cvitanich was once again on the scoresheet as he converted his chance from the spot. The veteran has been in excellent form since joining Banfield and has done really well replacing Silva who left for Catolica in Chile.

The highest scoring affair this weekend took place in Florencio Varela as Defensa y Justicia drew 4-4 with Gimnasia. Both defences were non-existent and we saw six goals before the break. Let’s just say you could have made a lot of money betting on overs in this game. Colon drew 1-1 with Rosario Central in a rather even game. Conti, who was heavily linked with Zenit, played the entire game for Colon and was solid as ever.

Another high scoring game took place in Cordoba as Talleres eased past Lanus in a 5-2 victory. Talleres are top of the Superliga table after scoring 5 goals of which 2 have been scored by Sebastian Palacios. Ramon Abila is back in Argentina after a failed spell with Cruzeiro in Brazil. The striker is owned by Boca Juniors but loaned out to Huracan till December. Wanchope was in great form for Huracan before leaving to Brazil and he opened the scoring away at Independiente on his return. Sadly for Huracan, Independiente came back and won 3-1. Rigoni-replacement Martin Benitez scored a brace for La Roja.

San Martin earned a 2-0 victory over Patronato, who could be in real relegation trouble this year. Atletico Tucuman edged past Godoy Cruz in a 2-1 victory. The hosts will have to play without their main striker this season as Federico Zampedri left the club for Rosario Central. One of the bigger fixtures of the weekend took place in the Nuevo Gasometro as San Lorenzo hosted Racing Club. Lisandro Lopez opened the scoring for the visitors after 11 minutes but San Lorenzo winger Cerutti equalised shortly after half-time. Both sides had some chances to take all three points but it stayed level for the remainder of the match. 1-1.

Boca Juniors kicked their Superliga campaign off in front of their home fans against Olimpo and continued to show that they are one of the favourites to win the title. Boca Juniors did a fantastic job by extending both Benedetto’s and Pavon’s contracts. The former continued his excellent goalscoring form on Sunday as he netted a brace in a 3-0 victory. The latter of the two gave two assists. River Plate were the better side on Sunday and deservedly got their victory against Temperley as they won 0-1.

River Plate were the better side on Sunday and deservedly got their victory against Temperley as they won 0-1. Ignacio Scocco started up front alongside Alario and the former Newell’s striker proved to be vital for River as he scored the only goal of the game. His partner up front, Lucas Alario, played his last game for River as he’s on his way to Germany. Bayern Leverkusen are prepared to meet his £24 million release clause and the striker is supposedly already in Germany for his medical. It will be interesting to see how River cope with his departure!

Union Santa Fe took the lead away at Newell’s shortly after halftime but Armenian/Uruguayan striker Mauro Guevgeozián equalised for the hosts. There were no more goals in the game and thus it finished 1-1. The last game of the weekend took place in La Plata as Estudiantes faced Arsenal. Arsenal were one of the worst sides in the Primera last season but brutally took the lead in La Plata. However, newly signed Lucas Melano (Belgrano) and Christian Aléman (Barcelona SC) turned their 0-1 deficit around. 2-1. Argentinos Juniors vs Chacharita has been postponed to the 8th of October.

Well, there we have it! The first round of the Superliga is over and if the other rounds are as entertaining as this one we will be in for an extremely exciting year. Tune in next week to catch up on all the action in round two!