Late comeback at Gremio takes River into Libertadores final
Soccer Football - Copa Libertadores - Brazil's Gremio v Argentina's River Plate - Semi Final Second Leg - Arena do Gremio stadium, Porto Alegre, Brazil - October 30, 2018. River Plate's Gonzalo Martinez (R) scores their second goal. REUTERS/Diego Vara
PORTO ALEGRE (Reuters) - River Plate reached the Copa Libertadores final on Tuesday after their 2-1 come-from-behind win at holders Gremio saw them go through on away goals.
River, who lost the first leg 1-0 at home, went a goal down against the run of play after 35 minutes when Leonardo put the Brazilians ahead.
The Buenos Aires side kept pushing forward, however, and Rafael Borre scored the equaliser with 81 minutes gone before the referee awarded them a penalty five minutes later after consulting with the video assistant referee (VAR).
Soccer Football - Copa Libertadores - Brazil's Gremio v Argentina's River Plate - Semi Final Second Leg - Arena do Gremio stadium, Porto Alegre, Brazil - October 30, 2018. A Gremio's fan after the match. REUTERS/Diego Vara
Gonzalo Martinez converted after a long delay and a red card for Gremio's Bressan and although the referee added 14 minutes of stoppage time the home side could not get another goal.
"We believed all the way until the final minutes, with faith and will to win," said River's Javier Pinola. "We deserved to win."
The remarkable victory sets up the possibility of an all-Argentine final against Boca Juniors, who play Palmeiras in Sao Paulo on Wednesday having won the home leg 2-0.
Soccer Football - Copa Libertadores - Brazil's Gremio v Argentina's River Plate - Semi Final Second Leg - Arena do Gremio stadium, Porto Alegre, Brazil - October 30, 2018. River Plate's Gonzalo Martinez celebrates after the match. REUTERS/Diego Vara
(Reporting by Andrew Downie; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
Soccer Football - Copa Libertadores - Brazil's Gremio v Argentina's River Plate - Semi Final Second Leg - Arena do Gremio stadium, Porto Alegre, Brazil - October 30, 2018. River Plate's players celebrate after the match. REUTERS/Diego VaraSoccer Football - Copa Libertadores - Brazil's Gremio v Argentina's River Plate - Semi Final Second Leg - Arena do Gremio stadium, Porto Alegre, Brazil - October 30, 2018. A Gremio's fan after the match. REUTERS/Diego VaraSoccer Football - Copa Libertadores - Brazil's Gremio v Argentina's River Plate - Semi Final Second Leg - Arena do Gremio stadium, Porto Alegre, Brazil - October 30, 2018. Gremio's Bressan struggle with referees after being expelled. REUTERS/Ricardo MoraesSoccer Football - Copa Libertadores - Brazil's Gremio v Argentina's River Plate - Semi Final Second Leg - Arena do Gremio stadium, Porto Alegre, Brazil - October 30, 2018. River Plate's players celebrate after the match. REUTERS/Ricardo MoraesSoccer Football - Copa Libertadores - Brazil's Gremio v Argentina's River Plate - Semi Final Second Leg - Arena do Gremio stadium, Porto Alegre, Brazil - October 30, 2018. River Plate's Enzo Perez celebrates after the match. REUTERS/Diego Vara
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