CONMEBOL Libertadores: River romps to debut victory El Millonario delivered a tidy, orderly, and confident performance, beating Alianza Lima 1-0 in Peru. The goal was scored by Matias Suarez, and Robert Rojas was injured.

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On this new edition of the CONMEBOL Libertadores Cup, River Plate played against Alianza Lima in Peru. El Millonario cornered the rival from the beginning and had two consecutive scoring opportunities: a cross from Santiago Simon on the right-hand side that Julian Alvarez failed to connect, and a pass from Julian to Esequiel Barco, who failed to comfortably strike a shot inside the box. The home team responded with a threatening pass into the box, that was cleared by Jonatan Maidana.

River finished the first half on a higher note than Alianza Lima and had three clear scoring chances: a good play set up by Alvarez inside the box, a long-range right-footed shot by Nicolas De La Cruz (cleared by keeper Angelo Campos), and a great header by David Martinez, off a corner kick, that deflected wide of the goal.

At the beginning of the second half, Franco Armani blocked a good header by Yordi Vilchez, and River had another chance thanks to a shot by Barco. Juanfer Quintero came onto the field, took a free kick that almost went into the net, and struck a left-footed shot on goal that went just wide of Campos’s right goalpost.

After many attempts, River took the lead thanks to Matias Suarez, who had just come onto the field: off a great pass from Julian Alvarez, No. 7 struck a crossed shot, setting the score at 1-0. Gallardo's team almost scored the second goal thanks to Alvarez, who zigzagged on the left-hand side and struck a right-hand shot that was saved by the keeper. River faced some difficulties in the last moments, and Robert Rojas was injured after a foul by Aldair Rodriguez, who was sent off.

River won its first three points in the group stage. It will now play against Argentino Juniors on Sunday, on Matchday 9 of the League Cup. River’s next CONMEBOL Libertadores match will take place on Wednesday 13th, at the Monumental Stadium, against Brazil's Fortaleza.

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