Platense Needed Stoppage Time to Draw a Unión Santa Fe Side Missing Its New Signings
Platense are the reigning champions of Argentine football for the first time in the club's 120-year history, having beaten Huracán 1-0 in last season's Torneo Apertura final. That context matters, because it's what makes Friday night at the Estadio Ciudad de Vicente López so uncomfortable to watch back.
An early own goal from Unión defender Tomás Fagioli put the hosts 1-0 up inside the opening minutes of their Clausura opener. From there, Platense should have been able to see out a favorable position against a Unión side that had, by its own admission, arrived weakened. Under FIFA-imposed restrictions tied to unpaid transfer debts owed to Juventud Las Piedras and Sol de América, manager Leonardo Madelón was unable to field any of his four new arrivals, Radio Gol reported.
The problem wasn't the opponent, it was closing the game out
Instead, Unión came back. Juan Pablo Ludueña leveled the score in the second half, and Cristian Tarragona converted a penalty to put the visitors 2-1 ahead, according to El Litoral's live coverage. Platense only survived because Bautista Merlini scored deep into stoppage time, a goal that stood only after a VAR review, per Unión's own club outlet, UnoSantaFe.
A point on the road against the champions is a fine result for a short-handed Unión side. For Platense, it's a different conversation. This is a team that is supposed to have moved past needing a review-assisted goal in the 90th minute to avoid losing at home to a club missing a third of its intended squad. The title itself isn't in question, that already happened. What's in question is whether Platense can control a match rather than survive it, and on the evidence of matchday one, that answer is still no.
