In a match marked by a bizarre incident, Independiente drew 1-1 with Vélez Sarsfield in the third matchday of the Liga Profesional. Jano Gordón, a Vélez player, opened the scoring at the 31st minute of the first half and, just one minute later, scored an own goal to level the match. The result gives both teams one point in Group A.
The match took place at the Libertadores de América stadium in Avellaneda, refereed by Hernán Mastrángelo. Vélez took the lead quickly when Jano Gordón scored the 1-0 at the 31st minute of the first half, but in the next play, the same player deflected the ball into his own net, tying the score at the 32nd minute. This unusual episode surprised everyone in the match, which maintained statistical balance: Independiente had 54% possession against Vélez's 46%, and both teams recorded 12 shots on goal.
In the first half, Vélez showed greater attacking initiative with 8 shots, while Independiente responded with 5. Claudio Baeza received Vélez's first yellow card at the 27th minute. In the second half, several substitutions occurred: Independiente replaced Milton Valenzuela and Luciano Cabral with Facundo Zabala and Lautaro Millán at halftime; later, Matías Abaldo was subbed off for Ignacio Pussetto at the 37th minute. Vélez made adjustments with Dilan Godoy and Manuel Lanzini coming off for Florián Monzón and Lucas Robertone at the 17th minute, and then Tobías Andrada and Matías Pellegrini for Matías Arias and Álex Verón at the 29th minute.
Yellow cards continued with Guillermo Barros Schelotto for Vélez at the 8th minute of the second half and Kevin Lomónaco for Independiente at the 13th. There were no red cards. Both teams arrived with previous draws: Independiente against Newell's and Estudiantes, Vélez against Talleres and Instituto. In recent history, clashes between the two are even, with mixed results in the last five meetings.
With this draw, Vélez leads Group A in first place, while Independiente sits in eighth. Independiente's next match will be against Platense on February 8, and Vélez will face Boca Juniors on the same day.
