A 4-0 victory over Kashima Antlers in the Club World Cup third place play-off flattered River Plate.
Bruno Zuculini opened the scoring from a corner in the 24th minute before Rafael Santos Borre’s penalty in the second half was sandwiched by two Gonzalo Martinez strikes in his final game for the club.
Juan Quintero was brought on for Exequiel Palacios at half-time and the Colombian made an impact in the final third.
Here’s our analysis of his performance.
GOOD
Creativity
Quintero’s excellent vision came into play after his introduction in the second half. As spaces began to appear in Kashima’s defence, the 25-year-old was well-equipped to exploit little pockets and feed passes into the front two.
He created the chance for the second goal with an excellent ball into the feet of Alvarez but also crossed well just before that after plucking the ball out of the air elegantly.
Attacking positions
As Kashima began to push forward and chase the game, Quintero was the main man for River in the transition.
He took up great positions, drifting out to the right, making himself available for the out-ball before coming back onto his stronger left side to play threatening passes.
BAD
Work rate
The FC Porto loanee was notably struggling towards the end of the half. He seemed to run out of steam rather quickly despite not contributing much to the defence. He only really came to life when his side were on the front foot.
KEY MOMENTS
50th minute: FREE-KICK – Ignacio Fernandez wins a free-kick on the edge of the box but Quintero’s effort doesn’t get enough elevation and strikes the wall.
60th minute: DRIBBLE – With the ball played into him on the edge of box from Nicolas De La Cruz, he evaded his man with a clever touch with his instep before beating another inside the box but a couple of ricochets sees it get away from him.
73rd minute: KEY PASS – Quintero controlled the ball with a superb touch and made a yard for himself to drill a low cross in that found Alvarez who rolled it into the onrushing Gonzalo Martinez to slot away.
VERDICT
His class was evident and some of his touches were a joy to watch. His parent club though wouldn’t have been too impressed by the distance he covered in the second half.
There were occasions in attack as well when he wasn’t quick enough to get up the pitch in support. That said, he certainly added a creative edge to River Plate on the break.
