River Plate put together a goal-fest in Córdoba and crushed Instituto on the night of Lencina's dreams.

River 's youth system, that inexhaustible source of talent. In the very week that Juan Fernando Quintero arrived in the country, Facundo Colidio extended his contract, and Sebastián Driussi 's recovery accelerated, Núñez's squad developed a young Santiago Lencina , a youngster who had already started against Platense —in the place vacated by Franco Mastantuono —and who scored a brace and delivered a stellar performance against Instituto . The elegant 19-year-old left-footer was the star of the 4-0 rout. And now, who dares to take him out of the starting lineup?

It was a party at the Mario Alberto Kempes stadium , with more than 50,000 Instituto and River Plate fans in the packed stands. According to unofficial data, the Cordobans pocketed just over 500 million pesos for hosting the visiting fans. And that celebration on the outside was matched on the pitch, as both teams gave themselves over to the spectacle: they attacked with a multitude of players and sought to press high. What happened was what was expected: hierarchy made the difference . Glory was at stake until the final minutes of the first half, when fortune favored Facundo Colidio , who was able to celebrate thanks to a detour after missing a couple of clear chances.

River Plate has been revamped: it no longer looks like a boring team. Gallardo's diagnosis after the Club World Cup was clear, and he opted to lower the average age. The surprise this time was Juan Cruz Meza , a 17-year-old attacking midfielder with a gait similar to Lucho González , who came on in place of Ian Subiabre . Maximiliano's brother was joined by Santiago Lencina , who also started against Platense in the debut.

Thus, the most veteran player in Núñez's attack was Maximiliano Salas, 27. And River Plate has another vitality in the closing stages, even though the youngsters can alternate between good and bad moments. But both showed interesting things. Meza, for example, slipped a superb pass to Colidio, who missed a one-on-one with Manuel Roffo. Minutes later, the forward blasted a shot over the bar after a pass from Lencina. That's something Colidio will have to improve: he misses too many opportunities.

Instituto tried to equalize with momentum, but River was the better player. They had already accumulated merits in the opening half. Colidio's two clear chances were followed by a Lucas Martínez Quarta header that went wide. Colidio's first goal, it was said, came after a deflection off Gonzalo Requena that threw Roffo off balance. The 44th minute was over.

The second goal deserves a special paragraph because it speaks to the new River: Franco Armani dressed as Chilavert and started a counterattack with a long ball to Salas, who got in the way of Turco Asad or Turu Flores. The former Racing player stepped up and opened the scoring for Colido, who left Lencina in front of goal. For the Corzuela, Chaco native, it was his first celebration in five First Division matches . He wouldn't be the only one, of course.

Instituto struggled in the second half and looked unfocused. Some players were over-revved. Francis Mac Allister saw red for a brutal tackle on Lencina , Fernando Alarcón went one-on-one with Marcos Acuña, and Juan Franco got into a fight with everyone.

And River expanded with space and possession. Lencina's second goal came after a run from Salas, who had previously missed his own. The fourth came from substitute Giuliano Galoppo.

River won, they thrashed, and they delighted the fans, who celebrated in style with the thousands of fans who came to the Kempes stadium. The young Lencina shone, and a new energy seems to be taking hold of Gallardo's team. After all, that's the new goal.