Advertisement

River victory stretches unbeaten run to 24 matches

(Reuters) - Temperatures approaching 40 degrees Celsius and two floodlight failures lasting a total of 50 minutes were among the obstacles River Plate had to overcome in Asuncion to beat Paraguay’s Libertad 3-1 having fallen a goal behind.

Goals from Uruguayan winger Carlos Sanchez and young strikers Sebastian Driussi and Giovanni Simeone, son of Atletico Madrid coach Diego, in the final half hour gave River the away victory in Thursday’s first leg of their Copa Sudamericana last-16 tie.

Libertad had taken the lead through midfielder Claudio Vargas on the stroke of halftime and were awarded a penalty for handball by River defender German Pezzella in the 56th minute before the lights went out for the first time.

Uruguayan striker Rodrigo Lopez had to wait 30 minutes for light to return before taking the penalty and he put it wide, a turning point for River who are now unbeaten in 24 matches in all competitions.

The lights went out again for 20 minutes after Sanchez’s 61st-minute equaliser.

The Copa Sudamericana is South America’s equivalent of the Europe's second-tier Europa League competition. River host the second leg in Buenos Aires next Wednesday.

(Writing by Rex Gowar; editing by Toby Davis)