The 2019–20 season was River Plate's 9th consecutive season in the top division of Argentine

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

. In addition to the Primera División, the club competed in the

Copa Argentina The Copa Argentina (English: ''Argentine Cup''), officially known as the "Copa Argentina AXION energy" due to sponsorship reasons, is an official football cup competition organized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA). The first editions ...

Copa de la Superliga The Copa de la Superliga Argentina was an Argentine cup competition. It was contested by all the teams participating in the Primera División, and played after the conclusion of the regular season. The 2019 edition was sponsored by YPF, with its ...

and

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

. The season covers the period from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020.

Review

Pre-season

Zacarías Morán agreed a loan move to

Chacarita Juniors Club Atlético Chacarita Juniors (usually known simply as Chacarita) is an Argentine association football, football club headquartered in Villa Crespo, Buenos Aires, while the stadium is located in Villa Maipú, General San Martín Partido of Gre ...

on 18 June 2019. Maximiliano Velazco's loan with

Defensores de Belgrano Club Atlético Defensores de Belgrano (usually known as Defensores de Belgrano) is an Argentina, Argentine sports club from Nuñez, Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its association football, football team, which currently plays in Primer ...

, which was set to expire on 30 June, was extended on 20 June.

Camilo Mayada Camilo Sebastián Mayada Mesa (born 8 January 1991) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a full-back and midfielder for Peñarol. Club career A youth academy graduate of Danubio, Mayada made his professional debut on 4 October ...

headed to Mexico with

Atlético San Luis Club Atlético de San Luis is a Mexican professional football club based in San Luis Potosí. It competes in the Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Founded in 2013, replacing the defunct club of the city ( San Luis FC) after its re ...

on 22 June. River Plate toured the United States for pre-season, with the first match being played on 27 June against

Ventura County Fusion Ventura County Fusion is an American soccer team based in Ventura, California, United States. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid. The team plays its home games in the stadium on th ...

at the

Wallis Annenberg Stadium Wallis Annenberg Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium located on the campus of University of California, Los Angeles. The stadium is home to the UCLA Bruins UCLA Bruins men's soccer, men's and UCLA Bruins women's soccer, women's soccer programs, ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

as they ran out 5–0 winners; with Lucas Beltrán netting twice. On that same day, Héctor Martínez departed on loan to

Defensa y Justicia Club Social y Deportivo Defensa y Justicia, commonly known as Defensa y Justicia, is an Argentine football club from Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires, established in 1935.

. Their second friendly took place on 28 June, as they scored five again after defeating

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

Liga MX Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...

in game one of the Colossus Cup. 29 June saw

Alexander Barboza Alexander Nahuel Barboza Ullúa (born 16 March 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a center-back for Botafogo, Club of Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club. Early and personal life Barboza was born on 16 March 1995 in the neighb ...

go to Independiente. Numerous loans from the previous campaign officially expired on and around 30 June. River met Ventura County Fushion of

USL League Two USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

for a secondary match-up on 4 July, with

Jorge Carrascal Jorge Andrés Carrascal Guardo (born 25 May 1998) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Russian Premier League club Dynamo Moscow and the Colombia national team. Club career Born in Cartagena, Carras ...

scoring four times in a 7–0 victory. Luciano Lollo was loaned to Banfield on 6 July. On matchday two of the Colossus Cup, River beat another Mexican team in América with goals from

Julián Álvarez Julián is the Spanish equivalent of the name Julian. Notable people with the name include: * Julián, Julián Cuesta, Spanish footballer * Julián Orbón (1925–1991) Cuban composer * Julián Carrón (1950) Spanish Catholic theologian * Juli ...

and Cristian Ferreira.

July

Gimnasia y Esgrima (M) were defeated in the

R32 on 16 July, though it took a 4–5 penalty shoot-out win to do so. Carlos Auzqui went off on loan to

Lanús Lanús () is the capital of Lanús Partido, Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. It lies just south of the capital city Buenos Aires, in the Greater Buenos Aires conurbation, metropolitan area. The List of cities in Argentina, city has a populati ...

on 17 July. On 23 July, River Plate met Brazilian club Cruzeiro in the first leg of a

round of sixteen encounter, as the two played out a goalless draw at Estadio Monumental. River travelled to

Argentinos Juniors Asociación Atlética Argentinos Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Paternal, Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its association football, football team, which currently plays in the Argentine Primera División, and was reco ...

in game one of the 2019–20 Primera División, subsequently coming away with a point. On 30 July, after they again drew 0–0 with Cruzeiro in the Copa Libertadores, River Plate advanced to the next round following a penalty shoot-out victory.

August

On 1 August,

Joaquín Arzura Joaquín Arzura (born 18 May 1993) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Italian Serie D club Isernia. Club career Arzura was a part of Tigre's youth academy until 2013, but made his senior debut in Cop ...

headed out on loan to

Huracán Huracán (; ; , "one legged"), often referred to as ''U Kʼux Kaj'', the "Heart of Sky", is a Kʼicheʼ Maya god of wind, storm, fire and one of the creator deities who participated in all three attempts at creating humanity. He also caused th ...

. Hours later, River announced their first signing of the new campaign as Paulo Díaz arrived from Al-Ahli of the

Saudi Professional League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

. River built upon their point on the opening day in the Primera División over Argentinos Juniors with a 3–0 win versus

on 4 August on home soil. Alan Marcel Picazzo joined

Villa Dálmine Club Villa Dálmine is an Argentine football club from Campana, Buenos Aires Province. The team currently plays in Primera B, the third level of the Argentine football league system. Due to a financial crisis, the club was named "Club Atlético ...

on loan on 8 August. River beat

All Boys Club Atlético All Boys () is an Argentine sports club based in Floresta, Buenos Aires. The institution is mostly known for its association football, football team, which currently plays in the Primera B Nacional, the second division of the Arge ...

7–0 and 5–1 in friendlies on 9 August, with Matías Suárez netting a hat-trick in the former while Ignacio Scocco scored a brace in the latter. 10 August saw Santiago Vera leave River Plate, as the midfielder agreed terms on a move to

Paraguayan Primera División The División Profesional de la Paraguayan Football Association, Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol (; "Professional Division of the Paraguayan Football Association"), also known as the Primera División (; "first division"), or due to sponsorship ...

outfit Olimpia.

Colo-Colo Colo-Colo (), officially Club Social y Deportivo Colo-Colo, is a Chilean professional football club based in Macul, Santiago. Founded in 1925 by David Arellano, it competes in the Chilean Primera División, from which the club has never been ...

revealed the loan signing of Iván Rossi on 13 August. River, for the first time since 1962, put six goals past reigning champions Racing Club away from home in the league on 17 August. River Plate defeated

Cerro Porteño Club Cerro Porteño is a professional Paraguayan Association football, football club, based in the neighbourhood of Obrero (Asunción), Obrero in Asunción. Founded in 1912, Cerro has won 34 Paraguayan Primera División, Primera División titles ...

in the first leg of a Copa Libertadores quarter-final on 22 August, winning 2–0 after Ignacio Fernández and

Rafael Santos Borré Rafael Santos Borré Maury (born 15 September 1995) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Internacional and the Colombia national team. Succeeding his early career with Deportiv ...

netted spot-kicks. River's first league loss came three days later, as Talleres won at the

Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti The Monumental Stadium (, ; named after its monumental structure), currently known as Mâs Monumental Stadium for sponsorship reasons,

for the first time in twenty-nine years. On 29 August, River progressed to the Copa Libertadores semi-finals after beating Paraguayan side Cerro Porteño 3–1 on aggregate, having drawn 1–1 in the second leg in

Asunción Asunción (, ) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of Asunción in the north ...

September

River opened September with a

Superclásico ''SuperClásico'' is a 2011 Danish romantic comedy film set in Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American coun ...

at home to

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is best known for its men's professional Association football, football team which, since its promotion in 1913 ...

, which ended drawn after no goals were scored. On 22 September, they got their second loss of the season, losing 2–1 at home to Vélez Sarsfield. They ended the month with a 2–0 victory against Gimnasia.

October

On the first day of October, River beat rivals Boca in a tense first leg of the Libertadores semi-finals 2–0 with goals from Borre and Fernandez. Ten days later, they beat Primera Nacional club Almagro in the Copa Argentina quarter-final, then followed this up with a 3–3 draw against Arsenal. On 22 October, River lost the second leg of the Libertadores semi-finals against Boca 1–0, but progressed to the final 2–1 on aggregate. River ended the month with a 2–1 victory against Colon.

November

On 14 November, River beat Primera Nacional club and fellow Buenos Aires club

Estudiantes de Buenos Aires Club Atlético Estudiantes, usually called Estudiantes de Caseros or Estudiantes de Buenos Aires, is an Argentina, Argentine association football, football club from Caseros, Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its association football, fo ...

in the Copa Argentina semi-final. A week later they lost the Copa Libertadores final against

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; ), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian multi sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea. It was founded and named after the Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo n ...

. River were leading 1-0 until the 88th minute of the game through a goal from Santos Borre, but two goals from

Gabriel Barbosa Gabriel Barbosa Almeida (born 30 August 1996), commonly known as Gabigol or Gabi, is a Brazilian professional association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Cruze ...

in six minutes gave Flamengo their second Copa Libertadores. River ended the month on a positive note, with a 2–3 away victory vs

Newell's Old Boys Club Atlético Newell's Old Boys () is an Argentine sports club based in Rosario, Santa Fe. The club was founded on 3 November 1903, and is named after Isaac Newell of the English county of Kent, one of the pioneers of Argentine football. A ...

December

December began with a home loss against rivals

San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Villa San Lorenzo, town and municipality in Salta P ...

. Five days later, River beat Central Córdoba 3–0 in the Copa Argentina Final, in their last game of 2019.

January

River Plate began the new year with a 2–1 victory against rivals Independiente at

Estadio Libertadores de América The Libertadores de América – Ricardo Enrique Bochini Stadium (, ; )
3 July 2019 to 24 September 2019
20 January 2020 to 19 February 2020.''

Transfers in

Transfers out

Loans out

Friendlies

Pre-season

In June 2019, River Plate were announced as one of four clubs, alongside

, América and

, that would take part in the inaugural Colossus Cup in the United States. They were scheduled to face the

duo at

SDCCU Stadium San Diego Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in San Diego, California, United States. Opened in 1967 as San Diego Stadium; it was renamed Jack Murphy Stadium for sportswriter Jack Murphy from 1981 to 1997. From 1997 to 2017, the stadium's namin ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

on 28 June and at

CenturyLink Field Lumen Field is a multi-purpose stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. Located in the city's SoDo neighborhood, it is the home field for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL), Seattle Sounders FC of Major League ...

in Seattle on 6 July. A day before facing Guadalajara, the club took on

side

in a friendly match. They met the American outfit again on 4 July.

Mid-season

River Plate and

(

Primera B Nacional Primera Nacional (usually called simply Nacional B, (English "National B Division"), and known as Primera B Nacional until the 2019–20 season) is the second division of the Argentine football league system. The competition is made up of 38 team ...

) scheduled a friendly with each other for 9 August, in Ezeiza at River Camp.

Competitions

Primera División

League table

Relegation table

Source
AFA

Results summary

Matches

The fixtures for the 2019–20 campaign were released on 10 July.

Copa Argentina

River Plate began their cup run against

side Gimnasia y Esgrima (M) on 16 July 2019, at the Estadio Único in

Villa Mercedes Villa Mercedes is a city in the province of San Luis, Argentina. It lies on the center-east of the province, on the left-hand banks of the Quinto River, 32 km from the border with Córdoba, on National Route 148, and near the intersection ...

. The game was narrow with River needing penalties to eliminate the ambitious second-tier club. In the round of 16, River disposed of Godoy Cruz courtesy of an own goal. In the quarter-finals, River beat another second-tier club,

Club Almagro Club Almagro is an Argentine sports club from José Ingenieros, Buenos Aires, although its headquarters are in the Almagro, Buenos Aires, Almagro district. The association football, football team currently plays in the Primera Nacional, the secon ...

, on their way to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals they faced tournament surprise Estudiantes, beating them 2–0 and advancing to the final where they beat Central Cordoba 3–0.

Copa Libertadores

River Plate were drawn with Brazil's Cruzeiro in the

round of 16, beating them on penalties after subsequent 0-0 draws. In the quarter-finals River beat

3-1 on aggregate. Local rivals

were disposed of in the semi-finals, in what was a rematch of the 2018 finals. River were paired up with Brazilian champions Flamengo in the final, who made a comeback in four minutes to take the title from River.

2020 Copa Libertadores

On 12 March 2020, CONMEBOL announced that the tournament would be suspended after matchday 2 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, with matches on matchday 3, originally scheduled for 17–19 March 2020, postponed to a later date. On 17 April 2020, CONMEBOL announced that the tournament would be suspended indefinitely, and no date had been set for its resumption. On 10 July 2020, CONMEBOL announced the new schedule for the remainder of the competition, with the updated fixtures announced on 26 August 2020 to begin with matchday 3 on 15 September 2020.

= Group G

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

''Statistics accurate as of 2 September 2019.''

Goalscorers

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2019-20 Club Atlético River Plate season Club Atlético River Plate seasons River Plate