Barracas Central collapses against Platense: up on a penalty, lost in stoppage time

It was leading on a first-half penalty and ended up losing in stoppage time. That's the brutal summary of what happened to Barracas Central, which fell 1-2 to Platense at Estadio Claudio Chiqui Tapia in Argentina's Primera Division, after a finish that slipped away in barely half an hour.

The home side had gone ahead with some help from VAR. In the 16th minute, Mateo Mendia committed a penalty on Norberto Briasco inside the box, and after a video review the decision was confirmed in the 18th minute. Ivan Tapia made no mistake from the spot in the 22nd minute: a low shot with his right foot, just inside the left post, for the 1-0. Before that, Barracas had already given a warning with a Tapia shot that hit the crossbar in the 8th minute, while Platense had responded with attempts from Juan Ignacio Saborido and Leonardo Heredia that missed the target.

The 1-0 held up until halftime, but Platense came out of the locker room with a different energy. The visitors began to take control in the second half and the equalizer came in the 58th minute: Nicolas Retamar, assisted by Franco Zapiola, finished with his right foot from the center of the box into the top right corner to make it 1-1. From there the game opened up, with chances at both ends but more clarity in front of goal for Platense's side, who created opportunities through Gonzalo Maroni, Rodrigo Insua and Juan Gauto, in addition to a shot from Facundo Bruera that Marcelo Miño, Platense's goalkeeper, was forced to keep out.

The final blow came just as Barracas was holding on for the draw. In the 89th minute, after a free kick was played into the box by Bautista Merlini, Luciano Gimenez, who had come on in the second half, finished with his right foot from the center of the box into the top left corner to make it 1-2, the final score. There was no time left to react: the five minutes of stoppage time passed without incident for Platense.

The numbers behind the result

Platense's second-half turnaround on the scoreboard was matched by the statistics. The visitors were sharper for the entire match: more possession, more shots and more clear-cut chances.

According to our expected goals estimate calculated from the match's shots, Platense generated 2.675 xG compared to Barracas Central's 2.237. A narrow difference, but one that confirms the visitors deserved more than a single goal, and that the final result ended up reflecting fairly well what happened on the field.

Before the match, our projection gave Barracas Central a 41% chance of winning, against 23% for Platense and 36% for a draw, with a total expected goals count of 1.78 (1.05 for the home side and 0.72 for the visitors). The result ended up being the exact opposite of what the favoritism suggested: the team with fewer chances on paper won, and did so by coming back in a match that had started with a penalty and an early lead for the home side.

What the match leaves behind

For Platense, the win comes at a moment when the club sat in seventh place in Group A with 8 points from 6 matches played (2 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses) before this result. Picking up all three points on the road, and doing so by coming from behind, is a boost for a team that had been inconsistent. For Barracas Central, meanwhile, there's the sense of having had the match under control with the early penalty, only to let it slip in just 31 minutes, between Retamar's equalizer and Gimenez's late goal.