Analysis The numbers behind the result
River Plate edge thriller with superior xG despite Banfield rally
River Plate's 3-2 victory was deserved on the balance of play, outperforming Banfield 3.26 xG to 1.17 in a match that highlighted their clinical edge. Despite having just 37% possession, Banfield created 14 total shots (5 on target) compared to River's 19 (8 on target), but River's superior shot quality told, with 13 efforts coming inside the box and none of their three goals being 'overperformance' against xG.
The game swung on River's early dominance, with Sebastián Driussi opening the scoring in the 32nd minute (assisted by Ángel Correa) and Thiago Almada converting a penalty nine minutes later. Banfield's second-half rally (Braian Sepúlveda scoring in the 64th and 84th minutes) couldn't offset Correa's 69th-minute winner, assisted by Tomás Galván. River's 82% pass accuracy (vs Banfield's 72%) and higher xG per shot (0.17 to Banfield's 0.08) underlined their control.
The decisive stat: River Plate generated 1.68 xG from open play alone—more than Banfield's total xG—proving their build-up play consistently produced higher-quality chances.