Platense's feat, defeating River on penalties, is now in the semifinals.

Platense pulled off a stunning upset in the quarterfinals of the Professional League 's Apertura Tournament, defeating River Plate in a penalty shootout at the Más Monumental. Vicente Taborda opened the scoring, and Franco Mastantuono equalized in the final penalty.

Platense's idea was a good one, and it paid off. Instead of sitting back, they tried to defend in the midfield and close down the center lane, aiming to prevent Nacho Fernández and Castaño from having space to create dangerous situations.

Although River dominated the ball and tried to break through the defensive siege by linking up with their full-backs in attack, they struggled to get close to scoring . As a result, they only got close in the 4th minute, when Colidio and Acuña linked up on the left, Huevo touched it down the middle, and Sebastián Driussi found Cozzani well positioned. Towards the end of the first half, they had another opportunity to shine, with Mastantuono's shot just wide.

In the midst of the home side's pursuit, and with the team stretched out in attack, El Calamar struck. In the 28th minute, a direct cross from Herrera found El Millonario in a bad position. Ronaldo Martínez touched it to Taborda, and Vicente finished with class past Armani to make it 1-0.

River's dominance grew in the second half, driven by the need to tie the score. They advanced a few meters, and their midfielders grew in influence . Thus, opportunities began to arrive. Mastantuono had a shot and a free kick that went just wide, Colidio challenged the goalkeeper with a fine header, and Castaño fired over.

Seeing that his team couldn't equalize, Marcelo Gallardo took a chance by taking off Enzo Pérez and sending Miguel Ángel Borja onto the field to add another attacker. In the 24th minute, the Colombian had his chance in front of Cozzani with a shot over the bar.

As for El Marrón, he barely crossed the halfway line, but when he did, he made things difficult and forced a miracle in the opponent's box: After Nacho Fernández lost the ball, Mainero shot, and Armani saved; in the second half , the ball hit Martínez Quarta, crashed off the post, and the goalkeeper saved on the line.

The final stretch of the match saw Platense hold on with more heart than legs, showing solidarity in marking and retreating. With a 4-5-1 formation, they tried to maintain their lead by any means possible. Opposite, Núñez's team gradually dissolved into their own nervousness.

Just when the match seemed to be dying, in the final minutes of the night, Borja went down inside the box due to a foul by Salomón, and Yael Falcón Pérez awarded a penalty. The controversy arose because in the buildup, it seemed like a free throw for the visitors, not River. However, Mastantuono cared little, as he took charge and made no mistake , sending the match into a penalty shootout.

However, Platense were more focused from the penalty spot. Castaño blasted the ball off the post, and Cozzani blocked it from Driussi. Thus, El Calamar won 3-2 and remains in the tournament.

Thus, El Calamar's feat was achieved in the heart of the Monumental stadium, in front of 80,000 rival fans, and with a huge difference in the squad budgets of each team. Now, Vicente López's team will look to reach the final when they face San Lorenzo de Almagro.