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River Plate, Monterrey play to a lively scoreless draw in Club World Cup

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — River Plate and Monterrey played to a lively 0-0 draw on Saturday night in the second round of group play at the Club World Cup.

River Plate had 18 shot attempts, but the Argentine powerhouse got none of its six shots on goal past Monterrey goalkeeper Esteban Andrada, a native of Argentina.

Monterrey got two of its three shot attempts on net, but Franco Armani also kept a clean sheet for River Plate.

The teams traded 40 combined fouls and eight yellow cards throughout a chippy match at the Rose Bowl before a raucous crowd of 57,393, with both teams benefitting from large supporter sections on each end of the famed stadium.

River Plate had the first half’s best scoring chances shortly before halftime, but Giuliano Galoppo’s unobstructed shot from the penalty area curled over Monterrey’s net before Lucas Martínez Quarta brutally shanked a point-blank volley moments later.

Monterrey opened Club World Cup play four days earlier with an impressive draw against Champions League finalist Inter Milan.

River Plate also looked sharp in a 3-1 victory over Urawa Red Diamonds in its opener in Seattle.

Key moment

In the 76th minute, Andrada smothered Miguel Borja's dangerous close-range shot after a run into the box.

Takeaways

Nothing is decided in Group E. Inter and River Plate are on top with four points each, but they must play each other on Wednesday in Seattle while Monterrey, which has two points, takes on winless Urawa in Pasadena.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer

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