Soccer-River stumble in double chase and may finish empty handed

BUENOS AIRES, Nov 24 (Reuters) - A fixture overload is taking a toll on River Plate's dual ambitions of winning the Copa Sudamericana while retaining their Argentine league title. River, fielding a largely second-string team, surrendered top place in the first division when Racing Club beat them 1-0 at home, thanks to an own goal from defender Rogelio Funes Mori, to open a two-point lead with two matches left. "Racing is my life, I came back for this," an emotional Diego Milito, the former Inter Milan striker, told reporters at the end of Sunday's win at El Cilindro. "We suffered because River play well despite having done so with the kids," added Milito, who was in the Racing side that last won the title in 2001 before moving to Europe where he helped Inter win the Champions League in 2010. River, who had led from the fifth round of games on Sept. 1, fielded reserves to keep their first team players fresh for Thursday's second leg of their Copa Sudamericana semi-final at home to bitter rivals Boca Juniors. Coach Marcelo Gallardo, whose side had gone a club record 31 matches unbeaten until their first defeat to Estudiantes two weeks ago, have dropped eight points in their last three games as he prioritises the Sudamericana. River hold a slight advantage, having held Boca 0-0 in the first leg at La Bombonera last week, but Boca found their goal touch to beat Independiente 3-1 at home on Sunday with two goals from Jonathan Calleri and one from strike partner Emmanuel Gigliotti. Lanus are also in contention for the title after Saturday's 2-0 home win over Gimnasia also left them two points behind Racing. San Lorenzo's form continues to be erratic as the South American champions went down to a 2-0 defeat at Atletico Rafaela on Saturday with less than a month to go to the Club World Cup. The Saints, seeded to meet Real Madrid in the final in Marrakesh, are 13th with 20 points after six wins and nine defeats in 17 matches. (Writing by Rex Gowar; Editing by Ian Chadband)