With goals from Santiago Soda with a header and Agustín Almendra, Racing reached 16 points in the standings and placed second, just two units behind Huracán, which leads the tournament with 18 points after their victory against Rosario Central.
On the side of Unión, they are left with 14 points and missed the opportunity to close the gap with the top teams after a great start to the championship.
In the next round, the ninth, Racing will have the match of the week when visiting Huracán in Parque Patricios for the lead in the tournament, while Unión will host River, which will no longer have Martín Demichelis on the bench.
At 10 minutes in, Agustín Almendra executed a masterful corner kick for the head of defender Sosa in the center of the area, who beat goalkeeper Thiago Cardozo to make it 1-0 for Racing. The ball was going to Nazareno Colombo but the mercedino anticipated him with a header.
Racing managed the first half very well, with constant approaches to Unión’s area and filtering passes that set the forwards up well in front of goal, but the lack of efficiency started to diminish their advantage, and the visitors gained ground.
In the second half, the Tatengue came out determined with Adrián Balboa, who was on fire since the first half, leading the game in Racing’s half and aligning well with Nicolás Orsini and Simón Rivero in the attack, along with some advances from Bruno Pittón on the left.
This dominance was finally capitalized by Morales, who anticipated the entire Racing defense with a header after a cross from Balboa.
However, just two minutes later, Almendra found himself in front of Cardozo’s goal after Maximiliano Salas failed to convert in the area and made it 2-1.
Racing’s goal made everyone in Unión nervous, and they began to make gross mistakes in the face of the home team’s advances, leading to a foul on Adrián Martínez by Claudio Corvalán with a kick, which left the Santa Fe team with ten players.