River Plate beat Carabobo 2-1 on Thursday at the Estadio Polideportivo Misael Delgado in Valencia, Venezuela, and did it in a match that turned on a missed penalty, a red card and a stoppage-time finish. Maximiliano Salas scored the decisive goal in the final action of the game, giving River a win that left it alone atop Group H in the 2026 Copa Sudamericana.
The result moved River Plate to 10 points after the fourth date of the group stage, four ahead of Carabobo and Bragantino, while Blooming stayed last with one point. For a team that traveled with an alternate lineup, the points mattered as much as the performance. River used a rotated side because players such as Lautaro Rivero, Marcos Acuña, Aníbal Moreno and Gonzalo Montiel were being preserved for the Playoffs of the Torneo Apertura, but the visitors still found a way to take control of the group.
The night opened with tension from the penalty spot. At 24 minutes, Derlis López awarded River a penalty after a VAR review for a foul by Ezequiel Neira on Matías Viña, but Juan Fernando Quintero was denied by Lucas Bruera. Carabobo, coached by Daniel Farías, then lost Edson Castillo before halftime for a foul on Joaquín Freitas, a blow that left the home side with 10 men before the break.
River finally broke through at the start of the second half when Maximiliano Meza headed in from a corner taken by Quintero. Carabobo answered at 31 minutes of the second half through Matías Núñez, who scored from the penalty spot after Santiago Beltrán was sent off for coming out of the area to stop a counterattack by Joshuan Berríos. With River already out of substitutions, Matías Viña finished the match in goal.
The closing minutes turned the game again. Salas finished the last real chance and sent River home with the 2-1 definitive result, a win that strengthened its position against Carabobo, Bragantino and Blooming with two group matches still to come. River will host Blooming and Bragantino in its next home games, with the standings now giving it clear room at the top but no margin for error.
