Argentinos Juniors held on to top spot in Zona B of the Torneo Clausura 2026 after drawing 1-1 with Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata at the Estadio Diego Armando Maradona. Nicolás Diez's side earned the point despite playing over a half with ten men following Sebastián Prieto's first-half red card, with Gastón Verón scoring the equaliser.
The ninth-round match started at a good pace. Agustín Auzmendi opened the scoring for the visitors in the 26th minute, finishing off a pass from Ignacio Fernández. The home side's task became harder when Prieto was shown a straight red card in the 41st minute, forcing Argentinos to play a man down for the remainder.
Fightback with ten men
Despite the numerical disadvantage, El Bicho came out with renewed purpose after the break. Their pressure paid off in the 74th minute. Tomás Molina found Gastón Verón inside the box and the striker finished clinically to level the score. The home team even pushed for a winner late on, but the Gimnasia keeper stood firm.
Manager Nicolás Diez had to reshuffle his tactics on the fly after the sending-off. His team's response earned a valuable point. The result leaves Argentinos Juniors on 18 points at the summit of Zona B, while Gimnasia sits third with 16.
Form context
The draw extends Argentinos' winless run to five matches, with three draws and two defeats in that span. Their last victory came nearly a month ago on August 30th, a 2-1 win over Aldosivi.
The squad now turns its attention to a significant away test. They travel to face Rosario Central at the Gigante de Arroyito on Sunday, September 20th, with kick-off at 17:00. A positive result there is key to stays at the top. For the latest squad information, visit squad.
First reported at diarioelargentino.com
