Fernando Gago is upset with the referee: "Three yellow cards in such a short period of time seemed very exaggerated to me."

Boca Juniors manager Fernando Gago said he was "leaving with a bad temper" over the 2-1 defeat to River Plate in Sunday's match on the fifteenth matchday of the Professional Football League 's Apertura Tournament.

In the press conference following the defeat at the Monumental , the Xeneize coach analyzed the match's progress and the details that led to the defeat in the first Superclásico of the year. "Obviously, I'm upset about the result, regardless of our performance in the first or second half. In the second half, we had chances and also made mistakes," he concluded.

Later, he was asked about the role of Chilean attacking midfielder Carlos Palacios and the lack of a partner with whom he could combine in attack to create danger and try to damage the Núñez team's defense. "In the first half, we couldn't find the ball circulation, and from then on, Carlos received the ball in a low area and couldn't turn. In the second half, we occupied the spaces better and had more room to attack," the former midfielder emphasized.

River Plate - Boca Juniors, for the Professional League

EFE/ Juan Ignacio Roncoroni

The 39-year-old coach revealed that "three yellow cards in such a short period of time seemed exaggerated" since they affected the match. In the first 25 minutes of the match, the La Ribera team received yellow cards for Tomás Belmonte, Ayrton Costa, and Marcos Rojo , all three of whom are pillars of Boca's defensive system.

Finally, Pintita was asked about his tactical plan at the start—he opted to play with three central defenders and two wing-backs—and was questioned about not modifying it to a more attack-oriented approach after the adverse result. “I preferred not to change the formation because playing with three defenders allows you to have more control of the match,” he stated. He added: “I thought it was a game to play behind the center-backs and find depth.”

Finally, he made it clear that he will do his mea culpa this week. "I'm going to analyze the game later, and see what we did right or wrong. We had clear chances to tie the game , but unfortunately, it didn't happen," the blue and gold coach concluded.