Gremio 1 River Plate 2 (2-2 agg): Martinez sends visitors into final in thriller | OneFootball

Gremio 1 River Plate 2 (2-2 agg): Martinez sends visitors into final in thriller | OneFootball

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Stats Perform

·31 October 2018

Gremio 1 River Plate 2 (2-2 agg): Martinez sends visitors into final in thriller

Article image:Gremio 1 River Plate 2 (2-2 agg): Martinez sends visitors into final in thriller

River Plate staged an incredible comeback to beat Gremio 2-1 and reach the Copa Libertadores final on Tuesday.

Gonzalo Martinez's 95th-minute penalty at Arena do Gremio saw River move into the Libertadores final for the second time in four years.


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He had earlier set up Rafael Santos Borre's equaliser to cancel out Leo Gomes' first-half strike in the semi-final second leg, River advancing on away goals after a 2-2 aggregate draw.

Gremio substitute Bressan was sent off in the final moments after his handball led to Martinez's winning spot-kick.

River, who suffered a 1-0 loss at home in the first leg, were the better side in the opening half-hour.

However, they fell behind in unfortunate circumstances in the 36th minute.

A deflected corner fell nicely to Leo Gomes, whose strike from the edge of the area also took a touch off a defender on its way into the bottom corner.

As River pushed for a way back into the encounter, Gremio had a great chance to seal their win after the hour-mark, but Everton was denied in a one-on-one with Franco Armani.

Instead, River pulled a goal back in the 82nd minute, Borre heading in a free-kick from Martinez.

But there was more drama to follow as River were awarded a penalty for a handball in the area, with the help of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).

Replays showed Ignacio Scocco's strike hit the outstretched hand of Bressan, who was shown a second yellow card in the 88th minute.

The spot-kick was finally taken seven minutes later, Martinez sending Marcelo Grohe the wrong way to put River into the final in incredible fashion.