BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA — Alan Lescano's thunderous left-footed drive from outside the box in the 71st minute settled a breathless five-goal contest at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium, as Argentinos Juniors claimed a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Banfield in the Argentine Liga Profesional de Fútbol. The hosts, sitting third in the table with 23 points, had twice built a two-goal cushion only to see Banfield claw their way back to parity, before Lescano's decisive strike finally separated the sides and sent the home faithful into raptures.
The match burst into life almost immediately. Nicolás Oroz drew first blood in the 14th minute, latching onto a perfectly timed through ball from Hernán López following a lightning fast break and drilling a left-footed effort from outside the box into the bottom left corner. The goal set the tone for an open, attacking contest, and Argentinos Juniors wasted little time in doubling their advantage. Six minutes later, Emiliano Viveros stepped forward and rifled a right-footed shot from distance into the same bottom left corner, leaving Banfield goalkeeper Facundo Sanguinetti with no chance and the home side in complete command.
Banfield, however, refused to capitulate. Mauro Méndez carved open the Argentinos defence in the 28th minute, teeing up David Zalazar, who steered a right-footed effort from the right side of the box into the centre of the goal to halve the deficit. The visitors carried that momentum into the dressing room and emerged for the second half with renewed purpose. Just two minutes after the restart, Méndez turned from provider to finisher, converting a right-footed shot from the right side of the box — assisted this time by Tomás Adoryán — to level the contest at 2-2 and silence the home crowd. The equaliser arrived almost immediately after Francisco Álvarez was booked for a foul, adding to the frantic atmosphere that had gripped the stadium.
With the game delicately poised, both goalkeepers were called into action. Brayan Cortés produced a composed stop to deny Nacho Pais from the centre of the box, keeping Argentinos level at a critical juncture. At the other end, Sanguinetti — who finished the match with four saves — got down well to thwart Román Riquelme, who had been played in by substitute Tomás Molina. The teams shared possession almost equally throughout, a 50%-50% split that underlined just how finely matched these two sides were across the ninety minutes.
The turning point arrived in the 71st minute. A corner kick swung into the Banfield box, and when the ball broke to Lescano on the edge of the area, he needed no second invitation. His left-footed shot arrowed into the bottom right corner, giving Sanguinetti no hope and restoring Argentinos Juniors' lead for the third and final time. It was a moment of composure and quality that the home side thoroughly deserved, rewarding their persistence after twice being pegged back. David Zalazar, who had pulled one back for Banfield earlier, was shown a yellow card in the 68th minute — just three minutes before Lescano's winner — and was eventually withdrawn in the 83rd minute as Banfield threw on fresh legs in search of another equaliser.
Sergio Vittor had already seen yellow for Banfield in the 43rd minute and was replaced by Santiago Daniele at half-time, while Argentinos Juniors made their own changes, bringing on Molina and Facundo Jainikoski in the 54th and 58th minutes respectively. The flurry of late substitutions — four from Banfield and two from Argentinos in the final ten minutes — spoke to the urgency of the closing stages, but the hosts held firm, protecting their one-goal advantage with discipline and determination.
The scoreboard resets; the table does not. Argentinos Juniors consolidate third place and will look to build further when they host Independiente Rivadavia on April 12, while a deflated Banfield side, still searching for consistency in 12th place, must regroup swiftly before welcoming Lanús to their ground on the same date.
