Newell’s Old Boys were overpowered and overwhelmed by Estudiantes in La Plata on Friday night, consigning Gabriel Heinze to his worst defeat in the league this season.
The 11-day break between the Newell’s victory over San Lorenzo and the defeat last night to Estudiantes seemed to do more harm than good as La Lepra never got to grips with the game, playing poorly throughout and allowing Estudiantes to cruise to an easy win through goals from Santiago Ascacíbar, Mauro Boselli and the impressive Leonardo Godoy; his goal coming just 18 seconds after the start of the second half.
The absence of the injured Juan Sforza was plain to see for Newell’s and his replacement, the inexperienced Lisandro Montenegro, could not offer what Sforza brings to Heinze’s team. Bruno Pittón struggled at left-back and was tormented by Godoy until being replaced in the second half while Jorge Recalde was a ghost in the attack line, barely touching the ball all night.
Newell’s now have to recover fast with two big games on the horizon. First, they travel to Chile for the opening game of their Copa Sudamericana campaign against Audax Italiano on Tuesday and then it’s the biggest game of the season, the Clásico Rosarino, on Easter Sunday (9th April).
Watch the highlights of the match below.
