Banfield salvages 2-2 draw at Gimnasia with a stoppage-time screamer from Zalazar

Gimnasia La Plata had the win all but sealed until the closing stages, but Banfield showed up once again at just the right moment. The match, part of Group B in Argentina's Primera División, ended 2-2 at Juan Carmelo Zerillo, with a goal from David Zalazar in the 89th minute wiping out a lead the home side had built patiently, with plenty of shots to spare.

The opener came early: in the 19th minute, Agustín Auzmendi headed home from point-blank range off a corner delivered by Nicolás Barros Schelotto. Gimnasia was clearly in control, but Banfield had a trick up its sleeve for the counter: in the 37th minute, Lautaro Gómez unleashed a left-footed strike from more than 30 yards out that found the far corner off an assist from Adrián Balboa. The equalizer, notably, arrived just three minutes after Lucas Janson had missed a penalty for the home side, saved in the 35th minute.

In the second half, Gimnasia went back in front. In the 61st minute, Pedro Silva Torrejón finished low with his left foot from close range, off a headed assist from Auzmendi himself. With that 2-1 lead, the home side looked on track to take all three points, continuing to create chances, including a one-on-one from Manuel Panaro that the goalkeeper denied in the 83rd minute. But Banfield never let up, and deep into stoppage time (five minutes were added), Zalazar, who had come on in the second half, buried the ball into the top right corner from inside the box off a cross from Renzo Malanca. Final score: 2-2.

A dominant display that fell short

The numbers confirm that Gimnasia was clearly the better side in terms of overall play, though it wasn't quite enough to secure the win.

The gap looks even wider when you consider the estimated xG calculated after the fact based on shot locations: 4.92 for Gimnasia against just 0.46 for Banfield. That's a sign the home side created much higher quality chances over the 90 minutes, though the final result ended up far more even than those numbers suggest. Soccer, once again, doesn't always hand out points based on who dominates the play.

The pre-match projections had pointed to a tight contest with a slight edge for the home side: 48 percent odds for Gimnasia, 29 percent for a draw and 23 percent for Banfield, with expected goals of 1.52 for the home team and 1 for the visitors. The final draw, precisely the least likely of the three outcomes according to that projection, turned out to be exactly what happened on the field, something the match itself, with Gimnasia dominating but missing a penalty and conceding two well-taken goals, explains fairly well.

What it means in the standings

In Group B, Gimnasia La Plata came into this match in second place with 17 points from 10 games played (5 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses), while Banfield sat in 12th place with 9 points from the same number of matches (2 wins, 3 draws and 5 losses). The gap between the two clubs stood at 8 points heading into this game, and the draw leaves both teams adding just one point apiece: for Gimnasia, a point that doesn't sit entirely well after leading twice; for Banfield, a point that feels like a win given how it arrived, with Zalazar's goal in the dying seconds.

The match had a bit of everything: a missed penalty, a long-range screamer, a wide-open final stretch and an outcome decided on the last play. Gimnasia is left with the feeling of having deserved more given what it created, while Banfield can take satisfaction in grabbing a point on a pitch where the scoreboard worked against it for much of the second half.