San Lorenzo Rallies From Deficit to Snatch Victory in Tucumán

The ball hadn't stopped rolling from Marcelo Ortíz's early header when the anxiety set in for San Lorenzo. Another road loss looming. Another match slipping away. Another game where their attacking promise would dissolve into frustration.

But in the span of five frantic minutes bridging halftime, the visitors from Buenos Aires flipped the script at Estadio Monumental Presidente José Fierro, erasing an early deficit to claim a 2-1 victory that may prove pivotal in their quest to climb the Liga Profesional Argentina table.

The turnaround began in the final breaths of the first half. Alexis Cuello, who had spent 44 minutes searching for space in Atlético Tucumán's compact defensive structure, stepped to the penalty spot with the kind of confidence that belied his team's recent struggles. The spot kick came at the perfect time—a psychological blow delivered just as the hosts seemed poised to carry their advantage into the break.

Five minutes after the restart, Nicolás Tripichio completed the comeback, and suddenly San Lorenzo's season had new life.

The victory was only their second win in their last six matches, a stretch that had seen them hemorrhage points through a combination of narrow defeats and missed opportunities. Coming off consecutive losses to San Martín de San Juan and Lanús, manager Leandro Romagnoli needed his squad to rediscover the form that produced a convincing win over Godoy Cruz three weeks ago. They found it when it mattered most.

For Atlético Tucumán, the collapse felt particularly cruel. Ortíz's ninth-minute goal—a powerful header that gave them the early advantage—should have been the foundation for a desperately needed result. Instead, it became merely a footnote in another disappointing afternoon. The hosts have now won just once in their last five matches, with three losses in that span exposing defensive vulnerabilities that Romagnoli's side exploited mercilessly.

The defeat drops Atlético Tucumán to eighth place with 15 points from 12 matches, while San Lorenzo's victory lifts them to seventh with 16 points. It's a narrow gap in the congested middle of the table, where a single result can shift a team's trajectory from crisis to contention.

What made the loss particularly frustrating for the home side was the manner in which they surrendered control. They had weathered San Lorenzo's early pressure and seized the initiative through Ortíz's finish, showing the kind of resilience that characterized their stunning 2-0 upset of River Plate in September. But football at this level punishes teams that cannot sustain their intensity for 90 minutes, and Atlético Tucumán's inability to manage the match in the crucial moments before and after halftime proved fatal.

The penalty that changed everything came from a sequence that will haunt Atlético Tucumán's defenders. Cuello's conversion not only leveled the score but shifted the momentum completely. When Tripichio struck five minutes into the second half, the hosts were still reeling, their defensive organization in disarray.

San Lorenzo, meanwhile, demonstrated the kind of tactical maturity that separates good teams from mediocre ones. After absorbing the early blow, they maintained their composure, probed for weaknesses, and capitalized when the opportunities arrived. Cuello's penalty and the quick second goal showcased a ruthlessness that had been missing during their recent slump.

The result carries significant implications for both clubs as the season reaches its critical phase. San Lorenzo now sits just one point ahead of Atlético Tucumán, but more importantly, they've arrested a slide that threatened to derail their campaign entirely. The victory provides momentum heading into the final stretch of fixtures, where every point will prove crucial in determining final positions.

For Atlético Tucumán, the path forward grows more complicated. Their home form, once a reliable source of points, has become unpredictable. The inability to protect a lead against a struggling opponent raises questions about their mental fortitude in pressure situations.

As both teams look ahead, the margins remain razor-thin. In a league where the difference between mid-table anonymity and a push for continental qualification can be measured in single digits, Monday's result may resonate far beyond three points.