River lost 1-0 to Atlético Tucumán at the Monumental and, before the final whistle had even settled into the night, Germán Pezzella was already hearing the anger of his own fans. The criticism came after a play in which Pezzella was gambeteado by Franco Nicola, a move that led to Atlético Tucumán's goal and turned the defender into the main target of the backlash.
One fan summed up the mood in blunt terms, saying Pezzella should retire today. The reaction spread quickly on social media after the loss, with River supporters blaming him for a result that left the team’s final regular-phase game against Atlético Tucumán at the Monumental looking flat and painful to watch.
The numbers were bad enough on their own, but the tone around the performance made the defeat sting more. The source described River’s display as apathetic and a step backward in collective play, a harsh verdict for a side trying to find its footing at this stage of the campaign.
Pezzella entered the match still working to recover his rhythm after a serious knee injury that kept him out for many months. That context did not soften the reaction in the stands or online, where the focus stayed on the error, the result and what it said about River on a night they needed more than they produced.
The loss leaves River with one more uncomfortable question hanging over the episode: whether a veteran returning from a long layoff can be expected to absorb that kind of pressure when the team around him is not giving him much protection.
