Athletico were at a disadvantage but still opened the scoring against the run of play in the 57th minute through Bissoli and also held on to their lead for more than an hour in the game.
Reinaldo got his second yellow card and was sent off in the 66th minute and that would eventually allow the visiting team to find their equalizer just at the end of the game.
Athletico were less impressive and had little possession of the ball in the first half.
River Plate were more aggressive, but came short of goals.
River Plate’s was so evident in the fact that they had 70% possession and 16 attempts made compared to Athletico’s 30% and only 5 attempts with one shot on target which eventually led to the goal.
It didn’t take long for the visiting team to draw level after the red with an effort from Paulo Díaz, who received the ball in the area and headed in the goal.
The return game is set to take place next week (1st of Dec) at the home of Independiente in Argentina. The away goal could be a deciding factor in the game. Having that in mind, a 0-0 score line will see River progress. A high-scoring draw by two or more goals will see the tie go in favor of Athletico. A 1-1 stalemate will take the game into penalties and whoever comes out on top will advance to the next round.
