A weakened River Plate suffered an inauspicious start to the club’s pre-season schedule, as the Copa Sudamericana champions went down 1-0 to Peru’s Universitario in a friendly held in Montevideo.
Argentine forward Germán Alemanno hit the only goal of the game 55 minutes into the encounter, played in the Uruguayan capital’s iconic Estadio Centenario.
Despite playing with a mixed team of starters and reserves, River looked to dominate throughout. The Núñez club controlled the ball, and could have scored after just two minutes when Lucas Boyé missed a chance.
Coach Marcelo Gallardo will not have been pleased with the number of chances squandered, especially in the first half, as the Millonario let their opponents off the hook time and again before Alemanno assured Universitario the victory.
buenosairesherald.com