River, slack jaw: the harsh statistic that explains his sporting crisis in 2026

The bitter draw on Wednesday in Junín against Sarmiento prolonged a worrying streak for River, which once again exposed its poor footballing present: it has accumulated 31 matches without being able to overturn an adverse result, a negative mark that has extended for almost two years. The Millionaire started the match poorly at the Eva Perón stadium. At the 15 minutes of the first half, Julián Contrera got behind Lucas Martínez Quarta after a cross from Junior Marabel and put the home team ahead in the score. From there, the game became uphill for River, which, forced to chase from behind, went to halftime at a disadvantage and could not make use of the hierarchy of its forwards. At the 14 minutes of the second half, Leonardo Ponzio's team managed to score the equalizer thanks to Gonzalo Montiel, who appeared as a 9 to head in the penalty area and give the Millionaire some relief. However, the joy did not last long: the goal was annulled by Sebastián Zunino, who, after a VAR call, reviewed the play and interpreted that the ball had touched Fausto Vera's hand in the previous action. ❌ GOAL ANNULLED FOR RIVER AGAINST SARMIENTO! — dataref (@dataref_ar) October 14, 2026 📺 SEBASTIÁN ZUNINO, after the VAR review, decided not to validate Gonzalo Montiel's draw due to a prior handball by Fausto Vera. pic.twitter.com/d1G78DtOKY In this way, River went back to zero and, with all its difficulties in scoring, still needed two goals to take the three points that would allow it to access the playoff spots. Although it achieved equality ten minutes later, again thanks to Montiel, the Millionaire did not manage to deliver the decisive blow due to its lack of effectiveness. Thus, it took a draw that aggravated its footballing crisis and extended the uncomfortable streak of 31 matches without being able to reverse an adverse result. One has to look back to November 2024 to find the last time River managed to overturn a game in which it started behind. On that occasion, the team led by Marcelo Gallardo was losing 1-0 against Instituto in Córdoba, after Gregorio Rodríguez scored in the 23rd minute of the first half. However, in the second half, Pablo Solari scored the equalizer at the 9th minute and, just nine minutes later, Paulo Díaz scored the 2-1 to give the Millionaire the advantage. Although Jonás Acevedo equalized the match again at the 27th minute, Facundo Colidio appeared with eight minutes left and sealed the final 3-2. Coaches and players changed, but River did not find answers to overturn an adverse result from that night in Alta Córdoba. The draw against Sarmiento was a new demonstration of a shortcoming that persists over time and that, amidst a worrying footballing present, still finds no solution. The last game River managed to overturn the result in. The poor performance throughout 2026 is reflected in its numbers. With ten defeats, four of them consecutive and without scoring goals at the start of the Clausura Tournament, the Millionaire is not only one of the teams that lost the most games among those fighting for entry into the international cups, but it is also far from the positions for qualification to the Copa Libertadores and occupies the last place for access to Sudamericana. Currently, it is ninth in the annual table, with 46 points, just one more than Estudiantes, which is out of the positions for qualification to international competitions. See also Clarín Newsletter Receive all the news, stories, and analyses from Clarín journalists in your email I WANT TO RECEIVE IT