Hand Of Pod

Episode 283 of Hand Of Pod sees Sam, English Dan and Andrés discuss a weekend of Superliga action in which San Lorenzo lost away to Gimnasia, thus falling even further behind league leaders Boca Juniors, who rediscovered their attacking form in an entertaining 4-2 win over San Martín. San Lorenzo also ceded second place to Talleres. River Plate are still abysmal, and lost 1-0 away to Vélez Sarsfield in a dreadful match, while Racing managed two impressive wins: first becoming the first team this league season not to lose to Godoy Cruz in Mendoza, and then beating Cruzeiro 4-2 in the Copa Libertadores on Tuesday night. All this and more.

Episode 282 of Hand Of Pod comes to you a little later than normal this week, but Sam and Andrés are here to talk you through last weekend's Superliga action ahead of the next round of games. Boca Juniors found it hard going for the second week running, but once again came through for a 1-0 win which keeps them at arm's length (or perhaps two arms' lengths) from the chasing pack, while there were plenty of goals elsewhere. River Plate's attack improved a bit, but their defence still left a lot to be desired in a 2-2 draw against Godoy Cruz; Rosario Central's youngsters, meanwhile, announced themselves with some fanfare as Andrés Lioi hit a hat trick in their 5-0 tonking of Olimpo. On Wednesday night, Independiente suffered the disappointment of a shootout defeat to Grêmio in the Recopa Sudamericana.

Episode 281 of Hand Of Pod sees Sam and Andrés look back on a weekend of action which saw Talleres leapfrog San Lorenzo to go second - albeit having played a game more - and Boca Juniors maintain the distance at the top of the Superliga with a nervy win over Temperley. There were a couple of high-scoring games to look back on as well, and Sebastián Ribas' red-hot scoring form continued with another goal for Patronato.

Episode 280 of Hand Of Pod sees Sam and Andrés discuss an entertaining round of Superliga action which saw the gap at the top remain at six points, thanks to second place San Lorenzo's 1-1 draw with league leaders Boca Juniors. Talleres went third with a fortuitous win over Temperley, and we also look at headline-grabbing solo performances for River Plate and Racing - namely Ignacio Scocco's brace, including a spectacular second, for River, and Lautaro Martínez's first senior hat trick for Racing.

Episode 279 of Hand Of Pod sees Sam and Andrés meet to discuss the opening weekend of football in Argentina in 2018, which included a Talleres win over San Lorenzo, giving Boca Juniors the chance to open a six-point gap at the top of the Superliga table - a chance the champions took in beating Colón. River Plate lost away to Huracán and, more worryingly, showed no signs of having adapted their gameplan over the summer break. Unión continue their fine form of 2017, and are now third, while Gabriel Heinze's spell at Vélez Sarsfield got off to a good start with a 1-0 away win over Defensa y Justicia. Newell's Old Boys almost suffered the indignity of dropping points to Arsenal de Sarandí, but were bailed out at the last minute.

Hand Of Pod returns for 2018, with a new logo and exciting plans for the new year. Sam and Andrés are your hosts for episode 278, in which we look back over a transfer window that was mostly uneventful but all the same takes an age to summarise, because as we might have mentioned before there are too many clubs in the Argentine top flight. Lucas Pratto became the Millonarios' most expensive signing ever, Carlos Tevez is back at Boca Juniors, and how have Independiente opted to replace Atlanta-bound Ezequiel Barco? All these questions and more are up for discussion. It's good to be back!

The final episode of Hand Of Pod in 2017 brings together Sam, English Dan, Andrés and Peter to discuss Independiente's entertaining run to the Copa Sudamericana title, after they beat Flamengo 4-2 on aggregate in an enthralling final which saw its second leg in the Maracanã on Wednesday night. Why they deserved the title, and how Ariel Holan has turned the team around are among the topics for discussion. Will Holan stay? How good is Ezequiel Barco? These questions are also considered. We also have a look at the Superliga weekend which saw Rosario Central beat Newell's Old Boys in the clásico rosarino, and Boca Juniors claim a win which ensures they end 2017 top of the league. Oh, and River Plate won the Copa Argentina! It's a lot to cover, and this is an extended episode as a result. Enjoy.

The two hundred and seventy-sixth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Andrés join Sam to look back on a weekend of Superliga action which saw yet another disappointing showing from River Plate, while Atlético Tucumán got an encouraging win ahead of their trip to Mendoza to play River in the Copa Argentina final on Saturday. Boca Juniors got back to winning way to keep their noses in front of San Lorenzo in the title race, and Defensa y Justicia won a five-goal thriller against Godoy Cruz. As well as all this, we've another continental final to look forward to, with Independiente preparing to take on Flamengo in the Copa Sudamericana showpiece, whose first leg is in Avellaneda on Wednesday night.

The two hundred and seventy-fifth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam and English Dan joined by a very special guest, because Phil Carney - author of the Lanús in English Twitter account - has flown down to Buenos Aires all the way from Manchester for a few days. Unfortunately his first visit to the city wasn't enough to help Lanús to their first Copa Libertadores title, as they were totally outplayed by Grêmio in Wednesday night's final second leg; we review that match, and Lanús' run in the tournament, as well as last weekend's Superliga matches. A second straight defeat for Boca Juniors and a good run for San Lorenzo means we have a title race, all of a sudden (they're now tied on points, though Boca have a game in hand, after San Lorenzo wrapped up a victory shortly after we finished recording). And there's praise for Independiente, who not only beat Racing in the clásico with a reserve team but also advanced to the Copa Sudamericana final in a thrilling second leg on Tuesday night.

The two hundred and seventy-fourth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Andrés and Sam discuss a weekend of Superliga action which saw Boca Juniors lose for the first time in the league this season, thanks to probably Racing's best performance so far - and which brought more bad news for Boca late on with an injury to Darío Benedetto which will probably keep him out until the end of the season. River Plate also lost the weekend, but finally won on Wednesday to end a run of six league games without a victory, while San Lorenzo went second and Independiente and Lanús both started continental ties this week: Independiente in the Copa Sudamericana semi-finals, and Lanús in the Copa Libertadores final. Both lost 1-0, but it's all still to play for ...