River and Talleres will be one of the most attractive matches in the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores due to the fact that they are two Argentine clubs that will compete for a place in the quarterfinals.
River arrived at this stage as the best team in the group stage, since in addition to not losing a game, it reached 16 points out of a possible 18, with just a draw against Nacional of Uruguay.
On the other hand, Talleres was the leader of Group B for much of the phase and lost the key match against San Pablo, which left it in second place due to goal difference.
The series will begin with a first match at the Mario Alberto Kempes stadium in Córdoba, starting on August 14, and will be defined in El Monumental, although the specific date has yet to be officially confirmed.
If either club advances to the next round, the next rival in the quarterfinals will be Colo Colo from Chile, who has Jorge Almirón as coach, or Junior from Barranquilla, with the harsh climate of Colombia.
San Lorenzo will have a tough stop in the round of 16 when it has to face Atlético Mineiro, the best placed of the Brazilian clubs, and also shares a key with River and Talleres in case it stays alive in the cup.
San Lorenzo closed its participation as second in Group F, with eight points, far behind Palmeiras, which finished with 14.
Now they must receive Mineiro at the Nuevo Gasómetro stadium, in the first duel, and will travel to Brazil to define the series. If they advance they will clash with Fluminense or the second in Group C -The Strongest, Gremio or Huachipato-.
Demichelis’ prediction
This confrontation between River and Talleres seems to have been predicted by coach Martín Demichelis. It was during the 2-2 draw for the 2024 League Cup, in March of this year, when the coach highlighted the Córdoba team and maintained that it had been like “a Libertadores game away.”
“We leave dissatisfied because I think we missed two points. For us, this match had a double objective, because not only did the three points put us first in the table again, but on the other hand it was also a litmus test for everything. that is coming, because this is a great Libertadores team, it is like a Libertadores away game, it is the team that finished second last year overall,” Demichelis said then.
The calendar
Round of 16: week of August 14 to August 21.
Quarter finals: week of September 18 to September 25.
Semifinal: week of October 23 to October 30.
Final: Saturday, November 30.
