Vélez Lets Victory Slip Away Against Platense as Zapiola Equalizes 2-2 in the 87th Minute

Ronaldo Martínez needed just four minutes to put Vélez ahead at the José Amalfitani, but the final 2-2 scoreline against Platense left the feeling that the match slipped through the home side's fingers at the worst possible moment. Late in the game, with the score sitting at 2-1 and the clock working in their favor, Franco Zapiola struck from outside the box in the 87th minute to seal the equalizer and send both sides away with a share of the points in the Argentine Primera División.

The opening stretch was end to end from the start. Martínez opened the scoring with a right-footed strike from the center of the box that found the middle of the net. Less than two minutes later, Bautista Merlini leveled for Platense with a low finish from close range, set up by an assist from Martín Barrios. From there it was clear neither defense was in for an easy afternoon.

The rest of the first half brought more scares than goals. Vélez lost Manuel Lanzini to injury during the half, then Juan Cruz Policella as well due to physical discomfort, forcing Guillermo Barros Schelotto to shuffle his bench earlier than planned. Platense, meanwhile, had a chance to go ahead before the break: in the 40th minute the referee awarded a penalty for a foul by Lisandro Magallán on Nicolás Retamar, confirmed after a VAR review, but Agustín Lagos sent his effort wide and the score stayed level heading into halftime.

Martínez Strikes Again, Then Zapiola Rescues a Point

In the second half, Vélez found the lead once more. In the 53rd minute, Ronaldo Martínez, again striking with his right foot from the center of the box, finished low by the left post off an assist from Simón Escobar, netting his second goal of the afternoon to make it 2-1. The home side looked on course to take all three points: Lucas Robertone crashed a shot off the crossbar in the 69th minute, and Bruno Sepúlveda did the same for Platense in the 66th, in a stretch that had both goal frames rattling.

But Platense refused to give in. With Martín Palermo's substitutions freshening up the attack (Iván Gómez, Franco Zapiola and Gastón Togni all came on), the visitors kept creating danger and eventually found their reward. In the 87th minute, Zapiola received a pass from Agustín Lagos and lashed a left-footed shot from outside the area that snuck in by the left post to make it a final 2-2.

By the Numbers

Platense had more of the ball and more shots overall, though Vélez was sharper in front of goal. The stats point to an evenly matched contest, with a slight edge in volume of play for the visitors:

The post-match expected goals figures, calculated from shot locations, also favor Platense: 2.935 compared to Vélez's 1.521, a number that backs up the sense that the draw wasn't an undeserved result for the visitors, even though they spent much of the match trailing.

The result stands in contrast to the pre-match projections, which gave Vélez a 51% chance of winning against 16% for Platense, with a draw estimated at 33% and expected goals of 1.25 for the home side versus 0.59 for the visitors. What actually unfolded on the field, with Platense generating more chances and snatching a point in stoppage time, turned out to be quite different from that forecast.

In the Group A standings, the draw leaves Vélez Sarsfield in second place with 21 points, 11 clear of Platense, who stay in 13th with 10 points after eleven matches played. For the home side, who twice had the match seemingly under control, the 2-2 feels like a missed opportunity. For Platense, who had to come from behind twice, the point grabbed in the final minutes carries a different kind of value.