Brasileirão Série A 2011 - round 2

Match reports

On Saturday evening Copa Libertadores semi-finalists Santos suffered a 1-0 defeat at Botafogo, Internacional suffered a surprise 0-1 home defeat to Ceará, Avaí continued their shocking start to the campaign with a 1-3 home defeat to Atlético Mineiro who jumped to the top of the division where they were joined by São Paulo after they recorded a 1-0 win against Serie A new boys Figueirense.

The pick of the games on Sunday was the 3-3 draw between Bahia and Flamengo. Corinthians and Vasco da Gama went joint top with wins over Coritiba and América Miniero. Defending champions Fluminense bagged their first win of the campaign with a 0-1 away win at Atlético Goianense. Grêmio recovered from their opening day defeat with a 0-1 away win at Atlético Paranaense who remain pointless and second bottom of the table after Rafael Santos scored an unfortunate own goal to gift victory to their visitors. Cruzeiro continued their indifferent start to the season with a 1-1 home draw against Palmeiras.

Results/Highlights

21-05-11
Botafogo 1-0 Santos
Internacional 0-1 Ceará
Avaí 1-3 Atlético Mineiro
São Paulo 1-0Figueirense
22-05-11
Corinthians 2-1 Coritiba
Bahia 3-3 Flamengo
Atlético Paranaense 0-1 Grêmio
Cruzeiro 1-1 Palmeiras
Vasco da Gama 3-0 Américo Mineiro
Atlético Goianense 0-1 Fluminense

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Atlético Mineiro 2 2 0 0 6 1 +5 6
2 Vasco da Gama 2 2 0 0 6 1 +5 6
3 São Paulo 2 2 0 0 3 0 +3 6
4 Corinthians 2 2 0 0 4 2 +2 6
5 Flamengo 2 1 1 0 7 3 +4 4
6 Palmeiras 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1 4
7 Grêmio 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 3
8 Atlético Goianiense 2 1 0 1 1 1 0 3
9 Botafogo 2 1 0 1 1 1 0 3
10 Figueirense 2 1 0 1 1 1 0 3
11 Ceará 2 1 0 1 2 3 −1 3
12 Fluminense 2 1 0 1 1 2 −1 3
13 América Mineiro 2 1 0 1 2 4 −2 3
14 Santos 2 0 1 1 1 2 −1 1
15 Internacional 2 0 1 1 1 2 −1 1
16 Bahia 2 0 1 1 4 5 −1 1
17 Cruzeiro 2 0 1 1 1 2 −1 1
18 Coritiba 2 0 0 2 1 3 −2 0
19 Atlético Paranaense 2 0 0 2 0 4 −4 0
20 Avaí 2 0 0 2 1 7 −6 0


For more South American football highlights, including the Argentine league, the pick of the rest and international tournaments:

Fecha 16 Clausura 2011 Argentina

Details of the 16th round of games in the Clausura 2011 tournament.
 
All of the video highlights are available by scrolling down to the Results section and clicking on the red scores.


Preview


Match reports

Silvio Romero celebrates his goal in a 3-0 win against Huracán
that moved Lanús to within a point of leaders Vélez.
Argentinos Juniors recovered from their home defeat against Olimpo last weekend to beat 1-2 Colón in Santa Fe. Nicolás Blandi and Franco Niell put the visitors two goals ahead before Iván Moreno y Fabianesi pulled one back for the hosts with around twenty minutes to go. Colón maintain by far the worst home record in the Clausura having lost six of their nine home games so far. Argentinos title hopes disappeared last weekend but this win kept them in the chase to qualify for Copa Sudamericana 2011.

San Lorenzo and Arsenal played out a 1-1 draw that did no favours to either side. The visitors Arsenal remain perilously close to the Primera División relegation zone and San Lorenzo are still stuck in a dismal run of form having only won 1 of their last 10 games.

All Boys took another gigantic step towards Primera División survival with a hard fought 1-0 win against Quilmes. This defeat leaves Quilmes in desperate trouble at the bottom of the table and needing to win all three of their remaining games in order to have a realistic chance of avoiding automatic relegation. All Boys are certain to avoid automatic relegation and another two points from their three remaining games would ensure that they avoid the slim possibility of finishing in the relegation playoff positions.

In the last game on Saturday Racing Club slumped to a 1-3 home defeat agianst a Banfield side that had failed to win any of their previous four games. Facundo Fereyra and Gustavo Toledo put the visitors two goals ahead in the first half but then a red card for Victor Lopez after twelve minutes of the second half threatened to ruin the game for Banfield. Racing got one goal back through a Mauro Dos Santos own goal with twenty minutes to go but Banfield's former Racing Club player Maxi Bustos took advantage of Racing's shambolic defending in injury time to secure their most emphatic away league win at Racing since two consecutive 1-3 wins back in 1943 and 1944.

Having had their game against Huracán cancelled last week when they were leading 0-2 Estudiantes were left without a win in 12 games and after a 0-2 home defeat against Independiente their dismal run of form was extended to 13 games which has seen them plummet from the top of the table down to 15th and suffer elimination from the Copa Libertadores knockout stages. Leonel Galeano scored the first goal for the visitors just before half time and Lucas Villafañez secured the win with a second goal on 76 minutes. The result resulted in the departure of manager Eduardo Berizzo.

Martín Palermo scored his 5th goal in 6 games to earn Boca Juniors a 1-0 win against bottom of the table Newell's Old Boys and stretch their unbeaten run to seven games.

With the Copa Libertadores semi-final second leg in midweek on his mind, Vélez Sársfield manager Ricardo Gareca put out a weakened side against Tigre. They lined up without star players Maxi Moralez, Juan Manuel Martínez and Santiago Silva  and lost the game 2-1. their first defeat at Tigre since 1955. Denis Straqualursi bagged his 10th goal of the season with a first half penalty, Ricky Alvarez equalised with a cracking long range strike on 62 minutes but Angel Diaz scored the winner for Tigre two minutes later.

The biggest game of the weekend resulted in a 0-0 draw between Olimpo and River Plate. The result leaves River in the relegation playoff places and Olimpo 0.005 points above them in the last safe position.

Lanús thumped Huracán 3-0 to move to within one point of the leaders Vélez. Diego Valeri, Silvio Romero and Guido Pizarro scored the goals in the first half.

The poor home form of Godoy Cruz cost them the chance to go joint top of the table after they allowed relegation threatened Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata to equalise twice to earn a 2-2 draw. Rúben Ramírez put the hosts ahead early in the first half but Alejandro Capurro equalised with a cracking goal on the half hour. Shortly after half time Mariano Donda re-established the lead for Godoy Cruz after Gimnasia goalkeeper Fernando Monetti let his shot squirm into the net but Lucás Castro scoreda dramatic injury time equaliser to earn a potentially vital point for Gimnaisa.

Results

28-05-11
Colón 1-2 Argentinos Juniors
San Lorenzo 1-1Arsenal
All Boys 1-0 Quilmes
Racing Club 1-3 Banfield
29-05-11
Estudiantes 0-2 Independiente
Boca Juniors 1-0 Newell's Old Boys
Tigre 2-1 Vélez Sársfield
Olimpo 0-0 River Plate
30-05-11
Lanús 3-0 Huracán
Godoy Cruz 2-2 Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP)

Positions

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Vélez Sársfield 16 9 3 4 30 16 +14 30
2 Lanús 16 8 5 3 24 12 +12 29
3 Godoy Cruz 16 8 4 4 29 24 +5 28
4 Olimpo 16 7 5 4 26 20 +6 26
5 Independiente 16 6 7 3 24 17 +7 25
6 Argentinos Juniors 16 6 7 3 14 10 +4 25
7 Boca Juniors 16 7 4 5 19 17 +2 25
8 River Plate 16 6 6 4 12 11 +1 24
9 Tigre 16 6 5 5 22 22 0 23
10 Racing Club 16 7 1 8 22 21 +1 22
11 Banfield 16 6 4 6 19 21 −2 22
12 All Boys 16 6 4 6 12 15 −3 22
13 San Lorenzo 16 5 6 5 18 14 +4 21
14 Colón 16 6 2 8 19 24 −5 20
15 Estudiantes 15 5 4 6 14 17 −3 19
16 Arsenal 16 3 7 6 21 22 −1 16
17 Quilmes 16 4 4 8 20 24 −4 16
18 Gimnasia (La Plata) 16 3 7 6 17 22 −5 16
19 Huracán 15 2 5 8 14 30 −16 11
20 Newell's Old Boys 16 3 2 11 14 31 −17 11

Show de goles



For more South American football highlights, including the Brazilian league, the pick of the rest and international tournaments:

Fecha 16 Clausura 2011 - Preview and predictions

Preview and predictions for the 16th round of games in the Clausura 2011 tournament.

Preview

Last week I got a half decent 4/9 correct results although I continued my long run of failing to predict a correct scoreline.


There are no Friday night fixtures this weekend so the first game featuring Colón and Argentinos Juniors kicks off on Saturday afternoon. This fixture has provided more than five goals in four of the last seven times it has been played but I'm going for the 0-0 bore draw given Colón's poor home form and the low scoring nature of most of Argentinos Juniors games so far in the Clausura.

San Lorenzo have won their last three home games against Arsenal, who have a poor away record having only won one of their last12 away games. A defeat for Arsenal would leave them far too close to the Primera División relegation places for comfort.

Quilmes face a tough trip to fellow Primera División new boys All Boys. A win for All Boys would ensure that they finish outside the automatic relegation places while a win for Quilmes would keep their fairytale Primera División survival hopes alive. Even though All Boys are in a decent run of form I am backing Quilmes to win this one as I really want the fairytale to continue for them.

Racing Club and Banfield are two of the most inconsistent sides in the Clausura. Banfield have fallen into the bottom half of the table after a run of four games without a win. Racing have won three and lost three in their last six games. This is a tough one to call but I'm going to go for a home win.

Estudiantes missed out on their first win in 12 games after the opposition Huracán fans got their game suspended last weekend. Their agonising wait for a win dates back to March but I fancy them to get one against Independiente, who despite a few wins this year are still notoriously poor on the road.

Boca Juniors are aiming to secure their first top half of the table finish since Clausura 2009 and a win against bottom of the table Newell's Old Boys would help them in that quest. Newell's have only won 1 of their last 17 away games and Boca have come into a fine run of form having remained unbeaten and picked up 12 points from their last six games.

Vélez Sársfield suffered defeat in their Copa Libertadores semi-final first leg against Peñarol in midweek so they will hope to bounce back with an away win against relegation threatened Tigre where they have won on all three of their recent visits.

The last game on Sunday is the biggest game of the weekend. Olimpo and River Plate are embroiled in the race to avoid finishing in the Primera División relegation playoff places and anything but an away win for River would leave them stuck inthe last relegation spot with only three games remaining. Olimpo have only lost 1 of their last 7 games and climbed out of the relegation zone last weekend with their surprise 0-1 away win at Argentinos Juniors. By round 9 of the Cluasura River Plate looked to be cruising to safety but a run of only 1 win in their last 6 games has left them in serious danger of experiencing their first ever relegation from the Primera División. the last time these two sides met in Bahía Blanca Olimpo ran out 4-0 winners but ended up getting relegated. I don't fancy a repeat of that scoreline however recent form suggests that a bet against the River Plate win is the right way to go.

On Monday night 3rd placed Lanús face Huracán who are only outside the relegation places by virtue of their fans getting their last game suspended by having a riot. Lanús are the Primera División's form team and I fancy them to win this enconter by a handsome margin especially given the fact that they haven't experienced a home defeat against Huracán since 1995.

The last game of the round features championship chasers Godoy Cruz and relegation threatened Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata. The home side have a far from convincing home record however the pressure will be on them to win and Gimnasia are one of the worst away sides in Argentina having only won 1 of their last 21 games on the road. If Godoy Cruz have any intention of winning the championship they must win this game.

Predictions

As the results come in I will fill in the actual scores and colour code the predicted scores, green for exact score, yellow for correct result and red for completely wrong. Each green score gets three points, each yellow score gets one point and red scores get nothing. If you fancy playing along fill out your predictions in the comments below to see if you can beat mine.

28-05-11 Prediction
Colón 1-2 Argentinos Juniors 0-0
San Lorenzo 1-1 Arsenal 1-0
All Boys 1-0 Quilmes 0-1
Racing Club 1-3 Banfield 2-1
29-05-11
Estudiantes 0-2 Independiente 3-2
Boca Juniors 1-0 Newell's Old Boys 2-0
Tigre 2-1 Vélez Sársfield 2-4
Olimpo 0-0 River Plate 2-2
30-05-11
Lanús 3-0 Huracán 5-0
Godoy Cruz 2-2Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP) 2-0

Score: 3 Points.

Andrés Silvera takes advantage of hesitant Colón defending to bag his hat-trick



On 21 May 2011 Independiente striker Andrés Silvera scored a hat-trick against Colón in the 15th round of the Clausura 2011 tournament to secure a valuable 3-1 win which shifted his club away from the Primera División relegation zone. The third goal highlighted some real communication problems in the Colon defence.

For more crazy South American football check out the rest of the Cosas locas series.

Golazo Leandro Caruso taco contra San Lorenzo, Clausura 2011



On 22 May 2011 Argentine giants River Plate needed a win against San Lorenzo in order to avoid finishing the weekend occupying one of the Primera Division relegation places. Leandro Caruso got the hosts off to a cracking start with this back-heel finish to establish a 1-0 lead (note the nutmeg from Mariano pavone in the build up play) but River goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo threw the win away with another awful goalkeeping error to leave the never relegated club in the relegation zone with only 4 games of the season remaining.

Part of the Golazo series.

Juan Pablo Carrizo blooper contra San Lorenzo, Clausura 2011



After his dreadful own goal in the Superclásico derby against Boca Juniors in round 14, River Plate goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo was hoping to keep out of trouble in their game against San Lorenzo in the 15th round however he had no such luck letting a long range shot from opposition striker Jonathan Ferrari slip through his hands. The game ended 1-1 and left River in the relegation places with only four games of the season remaining.

For more crazy South American football check out the rest of the Cosas locas series.

Santiago Silva golazo contra Gimnasia Clausura 2011



On 22 May 2011 Vélez Sársfield had the opportunity to establish a three point lead at the top of the Clausura 2011 table if they could beat a struggling Gimnaisa side. Santiago Silva scored this cracking goal to put the hosts 1-0 up and Maxi Morales secured the 2-0 win with a late penalty.

Part of the Golazo series.

Brasileirão Série A 2011 - round 1

Match reports

Vanderlei Luxemburgo's Flamengo got off to a flying start to the 2011 Brasileirão Série A season with a 4-0 demolition of Avaí, Ronaldinho had a good game scoring the second goal and providing the assist for the fourth in his first Brazilian league game in nearly a decade. The other big winners were Atlético Mineiro who cruised to a 3-0 victory against Atlético Paranaense.

The only other side to hit more than two goals on the opening day were Vasco da Gama pulled off an impressive comeback to win 1-3 away at Ceará.

Figueirense made a decent return to the top flight with a 1-0 win against Cruzeiro, who have gone from the most eyecatching side in the group stages of Copa Libertadores 2011 to a team that have suffered three defeats in their last four matches. América Mineiro were the other top flight newboys to record a win beating fellow promotees Bahia 2-1. Coritiba did not enjoy their return to Serie A after suffering a 0-1 home defeat against Atlético Goianiense, the winner was a curious mix of route one football and neat interplay between the forward line.

2010 champions Fluminense suffered a 0-2 home defeat to São Paulo. 2010 runners-up Corinthians picked up three valuable points with a 1-2 away win at Grêmio, the hosts established the lead from the penalty spot but Corinthians equalised after an outrageous dive from Liédson who then scored the winner with an acrobatic finish from a flicked on long-throw.

Luiz Felipe Scolari's Palmeiras side won their opening game 1-0 against Botafogo thanks to a cracking second half goal from Kléber.


Santos and Internacional were the only sides to draw their game, Kerrison put the Copa Libertadores semi-finalists ahead from the penalty spot but Zé Roberto equalised a few minutes later to secure the 1-1 draw.

Results/Highlights

21-05-11
Atlético Mineiro 3-0 Atlético Paranaense
Ceará 1-3 Vasco da Gama
Flamengo 4-0 Avaí
Santos 1-1Internacional
22-05-11
Palmeiras 1-0 Botafogo
Grêmio 1-2 Corinthians
Coritiba 0-1 Atlético Goianiense
Figueirense 1-0 Cruzeiro
Fluminense 0-2 São Paulo
América Mineiro 2-1 Bahia

Standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Flamengo 1 1 0 0 4 0 +4 3
2 Atlético Mineiro 1 1 0 0 3 0 +3 3
3 Vasco da Gama 1 1 0 0 3 1 +2 3
4 São Paulo 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 3
5 América Mineiro 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3
6 Corinthians 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3
7 Atlético Goianiense 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3
8 Palmeiras 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3
9 Figueirense 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3
10 Santos 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1
11 Internacional 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1
12 Grêmio 1 0 0 1 1 2 −1 0
13 Bahia 1 0 0 1 1 2 −1 0
14 Botafogo 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0
15 Coritiba 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0
16 Cruzeiro 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0
17 Ceará 1 0 0 1 1 3 −2 0
18 Fluminense 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2 0
19 Atlético Paranaense 1 0 0 1 0 3 −3 0
20 Avaí 1 0 0 1 0 4 −4 0

For more South American football highlights, including the Argentine league, the pick of the rest and international tournaments:

Copa Libertadores semi-finals

Overview

The semi-final line-ups for the 2011 Copa Libertadores are intriguing. The Brazilian side Santos inspired by teenage sensation Neymar are the only ones of the four to have played in a Libertadores semi-final since the turn of the millenium. Their opponents Cerro Porteño are the only ones never to have won the tournament before having been eliminated in each of their five previous Libertadores semis. Cerro's domestic form has been dismal, they are in the bottom half of the table having only won 1 of their previous 12 league games however their Libertadores form has been great having eliminated the tournament's most entertaining team Colo-Colo in the group stages, then Argentine champions Estudiantes and the Mexican side Jaguares in the knocknock-outges.

The other two semi-finalists are both making their first appearances at this stage since they last won it. Uruguayan side Peñarol last played a Libertadores semi-final back in 1987 when they beat the Argentine sides River Plate and Independiente in a semi-final group stage before famously inflicting the third consecutive Libertadores final defeat on América de Cali (the Jimmy White's of South American football) to win their fifth title. Vélez won their only previous Libertadores semi-final on their way to claim the 1994 championship.

Results

25-05-11
Santos Brazil 1-0 Cerro Porteño Paraguay
01-06-11
Cerro Porteño Paraguay 3-3 Santos Brazil
Winner: Santos Brazil

Santos won their home leg 1-0 after a typical bit of class from Neymar to set up Edu Dracena with a virtually unmissable chance. Cerro were not too disappointed with a narrow defeat in Brazil and fancied their chances in the second leg however they suffered their sixth Copa Libertadores semi-final elimination after a 3-3 draw. Cerro gave themselves a mountain to climb after conceding two goals in the opening half hour. Cesár Benítez pulled one back but Neymar re-established the three goal aggregate lead for Santos with a goal in first half stoppage time. Cerro fought back in the second half with goals from Juan Manuel Lucero and Jonathan Fabbro but it was not enough to prevent Santos reaching their first Copa Libertadores final since 2003.

26-05-11
Peñarol Uruguay 1-0 Vélez Sársfield Argentina
02-06-11
Vélez Sársfield Argentina 2-1 Peñarol Uruguay
Winner: Peñarol Uruguay

Darío Rodríguez scored the only goal of the game to give Peñarol a 1-0 win against Vélez Sársfield in the first leg of their semi-final. Vélez won the second leg 2-1 but the Uruguayans went through courtesy of the away goals rule however things could have been different had Santiago Silva not spooned his penalty over the bar with 15 minutes to go.

Huracán - Estudiantes suspendido, Clausura 2011



On 21 May 2011 two teams suffering terrible rins of form met in the 15th round of the Clausura 2011 tournament in Argentina. The hosts Huracán had slipped into the automatic relegation places after a run of five consecutive defeats and the visitors, defending champions Estudiantes had gone 12 games without a victory. After a dreadful goalkeeping error from Pedro Monzón and a free header from hernán Rodrigo López had gifted Estudiantes a 0-2 lead within half an hour the Huracán fans started a riot and succeeded in getting the game abandoned.

Most Argentine commentators seem to agree that Huracán should be severely punished in order to demonstrate that violence will not be tolerated.


For more crazy South American football check out the rest of the Cosas locas series.

2011 Brasileirão Série A highlights

This is the overview page for the 2011Brasileirão Série A. To see the most recent highlights simply click here. Otherwise you can choose from our archive of results below.

  • Round 1 (21-22 May)  Leaders: Flamengo
  • Round 2 (28-29 May)  Leaders: Atlético Miniero & Vasco da Gama
  • Round 3 (04-08 June)  Leaders: São Paulo
  • Round 4 (11-12 June)  Leaders: São Paulo
  • Round 5 (18-19 June)  Leaders: São Paulo
  • Round 6 (25-26 June)  Leaders: São Paulo
  • Round 7
  • Round 8
  • Round 9
  • Round 10
  • Round 11
  • Round 12
  • Round 13
  • Round 14
  • Round 15
  • Round 16
  • Round 17
  • Round 18
  • Round 19
  • Round 20
  • Round 21
  • Round 22
  • Round 23
  • Round 24
  • Round 25
  • Round 26
  • Round 27
  • Round 28
  • Round 29
  • Round 30
  • Round 31
  • Round 32
  • Round 33
  • Round 34
  • Round 35
  • Round 36
  • Round 37
  • Round 38

Fecha 15 Clausura 2011 Argentina

Details of the 15th round of games in the Clausura 2011 tournament.
 
All of the video highlights are available by scrolling down to the Results section and clicking on the red scores.


Preview


Match reports

Santiago Silva scored a magnificent goal for Vélez,
then followed it up with another one of his
irritating choreographed celebrations.
In the opening game Newell's Old Boys broke their five game losing streak with a 1-0 win against All Boys, who remain one win short of ensuring that they avoid finishing in the automatic relegation places. Veteran Newell's defender Rolando Schiavi headed the decisive goal from a corner kick after 28 minutes of play and then the home side held on to record their first clean sheet in 18 matches to take the three points.

Godoy Cruz missed their chance to open a two point lead at the top of the championship after a hard earned 1-1 draw at Banfield. Jorge Achucarro opened the scoring for "el taladro" in the first half and Leonardo Sigali equalised for Godoy Cruz near the hour mark but got himself sent off only 10 minutes later meaning that El Tomba had to play the last 20 minutes a man down but they held on to the draw to move level with Velez at the top.

In the opening game on Saturday Silvio Romero scored a hat-trick as Lanús battered Tigre 0-3 at "El Monumental de Victoria" to move to within a point of the leaders although Vélez had yet to play their 15th fixture. Tigre remain precariously close to the relegation playoff positions.

The next gane featured two teams both on 22 points five points behind the leaders. Hosts Argentinos Juniors had the best defensive record in the Clausura but had dropped far too many points by drawing half of their opening 14 games. The visitors Olimpo started the day in 4th position but occupied the last relegation playoff position. The game looked as if it was going to end in a stalemate but Martín Aguirre bagged an 84th minute winner for the visitors to move them within two points of the leaders and more importantly out of the relegation places.

Estudiantes looked to be cruising to victory over the only other team with a comparably poor recent run of form after going 0-2 up against Huracán within the first half hour however the game had to be abandoned after rioting amongst the Huracán fans.The suspension of the game looks to have cost Estudiantes their first win in 12 matches and the majority of Argentine football supporters would like to see Huracán severely punished by AFA as a result.

In the late game on Saturday Antonio Mohamed masterminded a 3-1 win for Independiente against his former team Colón. Patricio Rodríguez had another inspirational game setting up the first goal for Facundo Parra and scoring a magnificent individual goal for the two goal lead. The only highlight for Colón fans was yet another goal for veteran striker and club legend Esteban Fuertes but the comically bad defending that led to Independiente's 3rd goal will be hard to forget.

In the early kick-off on Sunday Quilmes kept their slim survival hopes alive with a 2-0 win against Racing Club. Quilmes had to wait until the second half to take the lead when Martín Cauteruccio scored the opening goal with a quality chest control and half volley then Miguel Caneo made sure of the win with a strike from outside the penalty area.

Vélez established a 3 point lead at the top of the division with a comfortable 2-0 win against Gimnasia who dropped back into the automatic relegation places by virtue of the fact that the Huracán fans got their game suspended which improved their points average. Santiago Silva scored a wonderful opening goal in the first half but Vélez had to wait until late in the game to score their second and make sure of the points when Maxi Moralez scored an 81st minute penalty.

River Plate needed to win their game against San Lorenzo to avoid spending the week in the relegation places and after a dominant first half display featuring a classy back-heel goal from Leandro Caruzo they seemed to be on their way towards the win they needed however their goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo fumbled Jonathan Ferarri's long range shot into the net to level the scores at 1-1 meaning that River now only have four games left to save themselves from having to face a tricky relegation playoff.

In the last game of the weekend Arsenal and Boca Juniors played out an entertaining 2-2 draw. Mauro Obolo headed the first goal to give the home side a half-time lead but Boca fought back in the second half from a Lucás Viatri header. Lisandro Lopez re-established Arsenal's one goal lead on the hour with the 3rd header of the game but Boca levelled again with an 81st minute goal from Pablo Mouche.



Results

20-05-11
Newell's Old Boys 1-0 All Boys
Banfield 1-1 Godoy Cruz
21-05-11
Tigre 0-3 Lanús
Argentinos Juniors 0-1Olimpo
Huracán Suspended Estudiantes
Independiente 3-1 Colón
22-05-11
Quilmes 2-0 Racing Club
Vélez Sársfield 2-0 Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP)
River Plate 1-1 San Lorenzo
Arsenal 2-2 Boca Juniors


Positions

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Vélez Sársfield 15 9 3 3 29 14 +15 30
2 Godoy Cruz 15 8 3 4 27 22 +5 27
3 Lanús 15 7 5 3 21 12 +9 26
4 Olimpo 15 7 4 4 26 20 +6 25
5 River Plate 15 6 5 4 12 11 +1 23
6 Independiente 15 5 7 3 22 17 +5 22
7 Racing 15 7 1 7 21 18 +3 22
8 Argentinos Juniors 15 5 7 3 12 9 +3 22
9 Boca Juniors 15 6 4 5 18 17 +1 22
10 San Lorenzo 15 5 5 5 17 13 +4 20
11 Tigre 15 5 5 5 20 21 −1 20
12 Colón 15 6 2 7 18 22 −4 20
13 Estudiantes 14 5 4 5 14 15 −1 19
14 Banfield 15 5 4 6 16 20 −4 19
15 All Boys 15 5 4 6 11 15 −4 19
16 Quilmes 15 4 4 7 20 23 −3 16
17 Arsenal 15 3 6 6 20 21 −1 15
18 Gimnasia (La Plata) 15 3 6 6 15 20 −5 15
19 Huracán 14 2 5 7 14 27 −13 11
20 Newell's Old Boys 15 3 2 10 14 30 −16 11

Show de goles



For more South American football highlights, including the Brazilian league, the pick of the rest and international tournaments:

Fecha 15 Clausura 2011 - Preview and predictions

Preview and predictions for the 15th round of games in the Clausura 2011 tournament.

Preview

Last week I got a poor score of 2/10 correct results and 0/10 exact scores, my second worst effort to date. Hopefully I can return to form with this week's predictions.

The first game of the weekend kicks off on Friday night in Rosario where bottom of the table Newell's Old Boys host an All Boys side who are on the brink of securing Primera División survival. It doesn't seem like a wise bet to back Newell's in this game as they have only managed 2 wins in 14 games however they do have a historical 100% home league record against All Boys and they are running out of chances to pick up the points they need in order to avoid the embarassment of a bottom of the table finish.

The next game involves second place Godoy Cruz who face a tough looking trip to Banfield. The Mendoza outfit need a win in order to overtake leaders Vélez and their excellent away record suggests that they could get it however I get the feeling that Banfield will put up a good fight. My gut instinct says draw but most of the stats point to an away win for El Tomba so I'll say Godoy Cruz to win and we'll see what happens.

The first game on Saturday features the Primera División's form team, 3rd placed Lanús against Tigre, who are still battling to avoid finishing in one of the dreaded relegation playoff positions. This fixture has only been played three times since the 1950s in the Primera División and Lanús have had the best of it winning on both of their previous two visits to El Monumental de Victoria. This should be a cracking game as both sides still have a lot to play for.

the next game should provide an answer to the old unstoppable force vs immovable object question. The hosts Argentinos Juniors have the best defensive record in the division while visitors Olimpo have more goals than any teams but the top two with 25. Both sides need the win for a couple of reasons, both sides need 3 points to keep their faint title ambitions alive, Argentinos need the win in order to keep up their chase for a Copa Sudamericana 2012 qualification place and Olimpo need the win in order to clamber out of the Primera Division relegation zone.

The next game features two sides trapped in terrible runs of form, defending champions Estudiantes have now gon 11 games without a win while hosts Huracán have plummeted into the automatic relegation zone after 5 consecutive defeats and only 1 point from their last 7 games. The only bright spot for Huracán has been the goalscoring form of their new striker Javier Cámpora but they will not want to be reminded that the last time he played Argentine domestic football he finished the Apertura 2005 season as top scorer for a Tiro Federal side that ended up getting relegated at the end of the season. I fancy Estudiantes to break their winless run with a convincing win especially since they have only lost one of their last 8 league visits to Parque Patricios.

The last game on Saturday features Independiente and Colón. The hosts have recovered well from their pathetic bottom of the table finish in the Apertura and after a 4 game unbeaten run they look like they could potentially finish the Clausura in a comfortable mid-table position. Colón lost their last away game against Tigre but recovered with a 3-0 home demolition of Huracán in fecha 14. I fancy Colón to get one over on former manger Antonio Mohamed who deserted them for the Independiente job midway through the Apertura 2010 tournament.

Sunday kicks off with a do-or-die game for Quilmes, if they fail to win against the division's most inconsistent side; Racing Club their chances of avoiding automatic relegation will end up relying on a highly improbable run of results and their fate will fall into the hands of the teams above them. Occupying 5th position gives Racing the boasting rights as the highest placed team amongst the so-called big five however defeat would allow all of the other so-called-big-five to overtake them should they manage to win themselves.

Championship leaders Velez should cruise to a comfortable win against relegation threatened Gimnasia in the next game but the have been prone to the occasional slipup, most notably a home defeat against relegation threatened Quilmes in fecha 11.

After only one win in their last five games River Plate are in danger of falling back into the relegation places without a win against San Lorenzo. They have a strong home record against Los Cuervos having won four of their last five home league games in this fixture however all River fans will have painful memories of their embarrasing defeat in Copa Libertadores 2008 where they let a comfortable two goal lead slip away while playing against a San Lorenzo team that had been reduced to nine players.

I fancy Boca Juniors to win the last game of the weekend at Arsenal, a gut feeling. I may give some more detail and statistical analysis later. As it is I'm going out now so it'll have to wait.

Predictions

As the results come in I will fill in the actual scores and colour code the predicted scores, green for exact score, yellow for correct result and red for completely wrong. Each green score gets three points, each yellow score gets one point and red scores get nothing. If you fancy playing along fill out your predictions in the comments below to see if you can beat mine.

20-05-11 Prediction
Newell's Old Boys 1-0 All Boys 2-0
Banfield 1-1Godoy Cruz 2-3
21-05-11
Tigre 0-3 Lanús 1-2
Argentinos Juniors 0-1 Olimpo 1-0
Huracán Suspended/ 0-3 Estudiantes 1-4
Independiente 3-1 Colón 0-1
22-05-11
Quilmes 2-0 Racing Club 2-1
Vélez Sársfield 2-0 Gimnais y Esgrima (LP) 3-0
River Plate 1-1 San Lorenzo 2-1
Arsenal 2-2 Boca Juniors 0-2

Score: 5 points (after the completion of the suspended Huracán-Estudiantes game