FIFA Club World Cup: River Plate settles for draw with Monterrey at Rose Bowl

PASADENA — The table was set time and again, but River Plate came away hungry.

With an opportunity to move to the top of the table in Group E, River Plate was held scoreless by Monterrey in a 0-0 draw Saturday night in the FIFA Club World Cup at the Rose Bowl.

“We felt like we should’ve won (and) that we were better,” River Plate manager Marcelo Gallardo said. “There’s a bitter taste from not getting the victory.”

Franco Mastantuono had a pair of shots on goal and was named man of the match for River Plate.

“It was quite an even game,” Mastantuano said. “(Monterrey) is one of the strongest teams in the group. The moment was fun, but we ended in a draw.”

The Argentine giants now have four points after two matches and are tied with Inter Milan for first place heading into their matchup on the third and final day of group play.

“We need to go out there and win,” Mastantuono said. “We must win. It’s something we need to go out and do. We know it’s a difficult opponent, but it’s clear what we will try to do.”

It’s the second consecutive draw for Monterrey, which drew 1-1 against Inter Milan in its opener and is alone in third place on two points.

The Rayados play Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds in the final Club World Cup match at the Rose Bowl on Wednesday night.

“If someone thinks it’ll be easy, just look at the J-League,” Monterrey coach Domenec Torrent said. “We need to win the next one, and if we win, we have many options to qualify for the next stage.”

Monterrey goalkeeper Esteban Andrade made eight saves – including multiple stops from tight angles – to keep the game even.

“It was an ugly match, a contested match,” Torrent said. “We were facing Argentinians, so we knew what was coming. We knew that we could make four passes, but on the fifth, the foul was coming.”

Both goalkeepers were forced into early saves, but action picked up in the 27th minute when Andrade punched aside a blasted free kick from Mastantuono.

“We had clear goal-scoring situations,” Mastantuono said. “If we managed to score there, the game would have opened up in our favor, but we take a draw.”

River Plate failed to convert two close-range opportunities in first-half stoppage time, with Lucas Martinez missing wide with a volley from six yards away as the match remained scoreless at halftime.

“We tried to conquer the ball and almost got a goal at the end of the first half,” Gallardo said. “We needed to score there and that didn’t happen.”

Gallardo’s team controlled more of the possession in the second half, first from Mastantuono, then Miguel Angel Borja was stopped in a one-on-one against Andrade in the 75th minute.

Following the second-half hydration break, Borja had another opportunity from inside the goal area, but Andrade was there for another point-blank save.

“We imposed our will but we didn’t get a goal,” Gallardo said. “In the second half, we had a totally different posture. Even though we didn’t get the goal, we felt like we were superior. Monterrey didn’t get a shot off in the second half.”

In a physical match that featured 38 fouls and nine yellow cards, neither side was willing to give an inch in midfield.

River Plate’s Kevin Castano was sent off in second-half stoppage time after receiving his second yellow card and will miss the matchup against Inter Milan on Wednesday.