Gutiérrez's Early Second-Half Strike Lifts Defensa Y Justicia Past Argentinos in Tight Buenos Aires Derby

The breakthrough came just when the second half began, and it proved all Defensa Y Justicia would need.

J. Gutiérrez's 47th-minute goal stood as the difference Friday night at Estadio Norberto Tito Tomaghello, where Defensa Y Justicia claimed a crucial 1-0 victory over Argentinos Juniors in Liga Profesional Argentina action. The result pushed the hosts into fifth place with 16 points while leaving Argentinos languishing in eighth on 15 points, both teams now at 11 matches played in the campaign.

What unfolded was a match of two contrasting halves—the first a cagey, scoreless affair marked by defensive discipline and few clear chances, the second defined by a single moment of quality that separated two evenly matched sides scrapping for position in the middle of the table.

Gutiérrez struck barely two minutes after the interval, capitalizing on what must have been either a defensive lapse or a moment of individual brilliance to put Defensa Y Justicia ahead. The goal shattered the deadlock and fundamentally altered the complexion of the contest, forcing Argentinos to chase the game while Defensa Y Justicia could sit deeper and absorb pressure.

For the home side, this victory represented a return to winning ways after a frustrating stretch. Defensa Y Justicia had drawn 1-1 at Tigre just a week earlier, with a late equalizer denying them all three points. But that result followed their stunning 2-0 upset of Boca Juniors on September 27, when Alexis Osorio delivered two late goals—one in the 84th minute, another in stoppage time—to snatch an improbable victory. Before that came consecutive losses to Estudiantes and Platense that threatened to derail their season.

The pattern reveals a team finding its footing after those mid-September stumbles. With four wins, four draws, and three losses, Defensa Y Justicia occupies exactly the kind of mid-table position that can shift dramatically with a run of form in either direction. Friday's clean sheet and controlled performance suggested a team regaining confidence.

Argentinos Juniors arrived in a different state of mind. They'd been held scoreless in a 0-0 draw with Central Córdoba just six days earlier, a frustrating result after back-to-back victories had generated momentum. Those wins—2-0 at Aldosivi and an impressive 3-0 demolition of Banfield, where Tomás Molina scored twice—had positioned them as a team trending upward.

But Friday exposed the fine margins in this league. Unable to break down a resolute Defensa Y Justicia defense, unable to respond after conceding early in the second half, Argentinos managed nothing that troubled the scoreboard. Their attack, so potent against Banfield when Molina and Alan Lescano found the net, couldn't generate the same quality of chances.

The defeat drops Argentinos to 4-3-4, their four losses now matching their four wins. What looked like building momentum after three victories in four matches has given way to one point from the last two games. They sit just one point behind Defensa Y Justicia, but in a league where the margin between fifth and eighth place is a single point, every dropped opportunity compounds.

Neither side could afford to be careless with their discipline, and the match passed without any red cards disrupting the flow or forcing either team to play shorthanded—a testament to the controlled, if not always spectacular, nature of the contest.

For Defensa Y Justicia, this victory does more than add three points. It establishes them as legitimate contenders for a top-half finish, potentially even a push toward continental competition if they can maintain this level. Their next matches will determine whether Friday's performance signals genuine consistency or merely another fluctuation in an inconsistent season.

Argentinos Juniors face a different question: Can they rediscover the attacking fluency that produced seven goals across two matches in late September? Or will they remain stuck in this pattern of alternating promise and disappointment, always threatening to break through without quite managing it?

One team left Estadio Norberto Tito Tomaghello with answers. The other left with more questions than before.