Matías Pellegrini missed two astonishing chances, but Vélez won thanks to the No. 9 who arrived five days ago

Vélez refused to let the chance slip after its elimination from the Copa Argentina by Boca. It beat Estudiantes 1-0 at the José Amalfitani, with Ronaldo Martínez scoring in his second match for the club after arriving only five days earlier.

The victory temporarily lifted Vélez to the top of Zone A and kept it in contention in the annual table. The team made the result harder than necessary by wasting a string of chances, but Estudiantes offered little threat, even after bringing on starters in the second half.

Estudiantes appeared to have one eye on Wednesday’s first Copa Libertadores quarterfinal against Corinthians and fielded several reserves. Its passive display still surprised, prompting coach Alexander “Cacique” Medina to shout at his players early in the match: “Make it simpler!”

Vélez had already created four clear chances within the opening 12 minutes. Martínez exploited a mistake by Gabriel Neves and set up Matías Pellegrini one-on-one with Fernando Muslera. Pellegrini rounded the goalkeeper, but his touch ran long and his finish struck the post.

The forward then benefited from a short clearance by Gastón Benedetti and shot first time. Muslera parried the effort, leaving Pellegrini with an open goal, but his left-footed attempt flew high and wide. Pellegrini, who came through Estudiantes and made 72 appearances for the club, missed the chance to score against his former team. Vélez eventually found its winner through Martínez.

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Make it simpler!