An injured 35-year-old midfielder was forced to play in goal in an elite South American soccer game, and put in a heroic man of the match display

• River Plate beat Santa Fe 2-1 in the group stages of the Copa Libertadores on Wednesday.
• That's despite it playing with a midfielder in goal and no substitutes after a COVID outbreak.
• Midfielder Enzo Perez put in a heroic man of the match display between the sticks.

Soccer team River Plate was forced to play its Copa Libertadores group stage match against Santa Fe on Wednesday with a midfielder in goal and no substitutes after a mass COVID outbreak in its squad.

That didn't stop the Argentine outfit securing a vital 2-1 victory, however, to move within touching distance of the tournament's knockout rounds.

River Plate had been hit with outbreak of coronavirus which saw 20 players test positive and excluded for the fixture.

Among those ruled out were four goalkeepers, and the club's request to register its fifth and sixth-choice goalkeepers for the game was rejected by South America's governing body, CONMEBOL.

The Buenos Aires team had opted against including them in its squad at the start of the competition, naming just 32 players instead of the suggested 50.

With 20 of its players then ruled out with COVID-19 and one player also out with injury, it was left with only 11 eligible players for the match versus Santa Fe - one of whom had to play in goal.

Veteran midfielder Enzo Perez was the man to chosen for the job because, according to ESPN, he was struggling with a muscular problem and unable to run around properly.

River started the game brightly, scoring twice within the first six minutes, the first coming from midfielder Fabrizio Angileri and the second from forward Julian Alvarez.

Perez then made a number of saves to deny Santa Fe a way back into the game, though he eventually conceded in the 76th minute when Kelvin Osorio prodded home from close range.

The 35-year-old's performance between the sticks however proved enough to see River win and move to within just one point of qualifying for the next round.

-River Plate (@RiverPlate) May 20, 2021

"He was very brave to take the position. It was not easy," River Plate's head coach Marcelo Gallardo said of Perez after the victory.

"I have to highlight that because it's not easy to play in a position that you know nothing about."

Gallardo added: "What place happened today will be not in my history, but in the history of our club, in the history of River Plate, in the history of our institution.

"I believe that we have never had a situation like this one today. I am sure this will be remembered and bookmarked. It was not normal to play under the conditions that we did."

Perez was awarded the Man of the Match award for his performance, as well as plenty of praise on social media from the club's fans, for which he said he was extremely grateful.

"I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the love you gave me, for the messages," he said. "I hope you continue everything in the best way, I send you a big hug to all."

River Plate next faces Brazilian team Fluminese in its final game of the Copa Libertadores group stage on May 25.