River Plate beat Rosario Central 1-0 at the Monumental on Tuesday night in the first semifinal of the Torneo Apertura, with Facundo Colidio scoring the only goal after a match that turned on missed chances, VAR checks and two penalties.

Gonzalo Montiel had already seen a first-half penalty saved by Jorge Ledesma when River went back to the spot late in the second half, and Colidio converted that chance to settle the tie. Rosario Central, meanwhile, was left to rue a night that included Pol Fernández hitting the post early in the second half and Ángel Di María later striking the upright with a free kick that never quite changed the rhythm of the contest.

The opening spell carried most of the drama. River won its first penalty after the VAR called referee Nicolás Ramírez to review a hand-to-face incident involving Gastón Ávila and Lucas Martínez Quarta. Montiel stepped up and looked set to give River control, but Ledesma saved low to keep Rosario Central alive. Before the interval, River also lost Sebastián Driussi to injury after a foul by Franco Ibarra, and he was replaced by Freitas.

Rosario Central had a brief surge early in the second half, with Pol Fernández striking the post, but it never fully translated into a sustained push. Di María did not weigh heavily on the game overall, even if his free kick later hit the woodwork, and Central’s best openings were too scattered to undo River’s structure. When River earned its second penalty after a foul on Freitas, Colidio made the chance count and finally broke the deadlock.

The result sent River into the final and eliminated Rosario Central from the semifinals. It also left a sharp contrast with the Canalla’s run through much of the tournament, because this performance did not resemble the level they had shown in other Apertura matches. In the end, River needed two penalties to score once, but that was enough to decide one of the semifinals and end Central’s title chase in Buenos Aires.

Rosario Central will now turn its focus to the Copa Libertadores, while River moves on with the kind of narrow win that often defines knockout football: not fluent, not comfortable, but decisive when it mattered most.