Porcel’s Brace Powers Argentinos Juniors Past Newell’s, Igniting Hopes in a Crowded Midtable
On a spring night in Buenos Aires, with a chill still lingering in the air around Estadio Diego Armando Maradona, Argentinos Juniors rediscovered the kind of conviction that can lift a side out of mediocrity and spark late-season ambition. In a display marked by resilience, opportunism, and no small measure of attacking verve, Argentinos overturned an early deficit to dispatch Newell’s Old Boys, 3-1. The victory, orchestrated by a clinical brace from Diego Porcel and capped by Gabriel Florentín’s strike on the cusp of halftime, vaulted the club back into the top half of the Liga Profesional Argentina, reigniting hope in a campaign so far defined by fits and starts.
The night began with the familiar unease of recent weeks for the hosts, as Newell’s Old Boys—carrying their own burdens from a rocky run—struck first. Just nine minutes in, Luciano Herrera capitalized on a lapse in concentration inside the box. His finish was instinctive, brash, and for a moment, seemed to suggest Argentinos’ inconsistencies would again haunt them. Newell’s, who have struggled to impose themselves in enemy territory in recent weeks, found a rare tonic in the goal—briefly.
But football, as often in this storied stadium, proved mercurial. Argentinos responded with a surge, both urgent and methodical. By the 21st minute, they were level: a clever sequence pried open Newell’s defense and Porcel, ghosting in at the edge of the six-yard box, steered the ball home with a striker’s poise.
Momentum, once seized, rarely loosened its grip. Five minutes later, Porcel was again at the heart of the action. A poorly cleared ball dropped invitingly; with defenders scrambling in vain, Porcel’s finish was authoritative, a low drive that left goalkeeper and visiting supporters equally resigned. Within a frantic 26 minutes, Argentinos had engineered a reversal emblematic of the club’s historical grit—a willingness to absorb setbacks and answer with spirited, sometimes spectacular, football.
The minutes leading to halftime brought no respite for Newell’s. With their midfield leader Éver Banega already toiling to stem the red-and-white tide, Argentinos pressed relentlessly. Their reward came in the 44th minute, when Gabriel Florentín found space just inside the penalty area. His strike, crisp and rising, caromed in off the underside of the bar, giving Argentinos an emphatic 3-1 lead as the halftime whistle sounded.
For Newell’s, the script of the season—a promising start, a defensive collapse, and mounting pressure—was playing out with dispiriting familiarity. Their recent form tells the story: a bruising 0-5 loss away to Boca Juniors still fresh in memory, a string of draws doing little to lift a side now entrenched in 14th place, four points adrift of Saturday’s conquerors.
The second half brought little relief. Banega, the veteran orchestrator, was shown red with less than 10 minutes to play, a lunge borne of frustration as much as necessity. His departure all but extinguished Newell’s hopes of a comeback and threw a shadow over their immediate future, with suspension now looming for a player whose influence is so often a barometer for the side.
For Argentinos Juniors, however, the night was a restorative one. Their own recent history—a narrow loss at Defensa y Justicia, a scoreless draw against Central Cordoba—had threatened momentum. But this win, their third in five, carried the suggestion of a side quietly consolidating, if not yet soaring. The three points push them to 15 for the campaign, and though the ninth-place standing leaves them with work to do, Saturday offered ample evidence of both collective and individual progress. Porcel’s emergence as a reliable scorer—now with a brace to headline his account—may prove vital as the league’s tableau tightens.
Context matters deeply at this stage. Argentinos’ head-to-head record with Newell’s in recent years has often brought tense, narrow affairs; this time the margin was clear, earned not through dominance but by answering adversity with purpose.
Looking ahead, Argentinos Juniors eye a congested midtable and the tantalizing prospect of a run toward continental qualification; their destiny remains malleable, shaped by both their flaws and their rediscovered fight. For Newell’s Old Boys, the road grows longer and rougher—another defeat, more questions, and the imperative to arrest a slow slide toward irrelevance as the season’s second half beckons.
In a league perpetually balanced on a knife’s edge, Saturday night’s result may prove a simple chapter or a turning point. For now, it is celebration and promise for Argentinos Juniors— and for Newell’s, the search for answers continues, the shadows lengthening with every setback.