River Plate 2-0 Atletico Nacional (agg 3-1): Fans go wild in Buenos Aires as Marcelo Gallardo's side win Copa Sudamericana
- River Plate win Copa Sudamericana, South America's second-most prestigious continental competition
- Argentinian side beat Colombia'a Atletico Nacional from Medellin 3-1 over two legs, winning the second leg 2-0
- River can complete a league and cup double on Sunday if they win and Racing fail to do so
River
Plate won the Copa Sudamericana title on Wednesday after downing
Colombians Atletico Nacional 2-0 at home in the second leg of the final.
Gabriel
Mercado and German Pezzella both scored with headers to give the famous
Buenos Aires club its first international title in 17 years.
The
two teams drew 1-1 in the first leg last week in Latin America's second
most prestigious club tournament after the Copa Libertadores.
VIDEO Scroll down for highlights from the Copa Sudamericana final as River Plate beat Atletico Nacional 3-1 on aggregate
River Plate's squad pose for the cameras after securing their first continental title in 17 years on Wednesday night
RIver Plate fans set the Buenos Aires night alight with flares and fireworks as they cheered on their team
Both sets of players were greeted with the sight of red tape as River Plate fans created a cauldron-like atmosphere
River fans were already in the mood to celebrate before the match with the tie still locked at 1-1 after the first leg
Defender Gabriel Mercado gives River the lead on the night and in the tie with a well-placed header
Mercado is mobbed by his team-mates after his opening goal put River Plate in the driving seat in the final
German Pezzella (pictured) scored River's second goal as they ended up running out comfortable winners
'Thanks
to the players for playing the game the way it should be played,' said
River coach Marcelo Gallardo, a former River player. 'I offer a toast to
the team. I feel very proud for having come to this club, for having
started as a player here and grown as a person.'
Mercado
opened the scoring in the 54th minute and Pezzella sealed the win 10
minutes later. After that, the Colombians seemed to run out of energy,
sensing the victory was River's.
River Plate defeated Buenos Aires arch-rivals Boca Juniors in the semi-finals, making the victory in the final even sweeter.
River
can win the Argentine league title on Sunday in the final round, but
trail Racing Club by two points. The two top teams do not play each
other and a victory by Racing will guarantee them the First Division
title, denying River a double.
Coach Marcelo Gallardo - a former Argentina international - celebrates with his players after the final whistle
River are hoping to complete a league and cup double by leapfrogging Racing on the final day of the season on Sunday
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