Out of the Copa Sudamericana, Universidad Católica focuses its artillery on LigaPro, a tournament in which it aspires to be in the first position.
"We have to lift ourselves mentally to fight for the remaining objective this season," said Santiago Escobar, who hopes to overcome Barcelona at the Olympic Atahualpa stadium and thus collect three points to try to snatch the lead from Macará, a team that has 42 points, one away from the "blue train".
Escobar expressed his displeasure at the elimination, in a series in which his team could have been victorious due to their dynamic gameplay, something they aim to consolidate to fight for the league.
"The idea is to maintain the team's DNA and the parameters of the game that we showed in the Copa Sudamericana. Carry them over to the remaining championship. We will seek to secure entry into the playoffs, then the goal will be to be first or second in the table to qualify for the Libertadores. Afterwards, in the final phase of the tournament, it will be another story, the present of each team will determine how far we can go," he said.
- Check the Liga Pro standings
Still with "sadness" over the elimination, the "camaratas" focus on facing the "toreros". "The elimination hurts and it's okay for it to hurt, but we have to dry our tears and think about the tournament. The Copa is over, we have to think about beating Barcelona," commented the goalkeeper Hernán Galíndez.
On the other hand, Facundo Martínez talked about a "revenge with football," so he aimed for victory over the "amarillos": "We have to rise, the opponent who is a candidate to fight for the title is coming."
The "toreros," on the other hand, seek to move out of fourth place and add three points to the 36 they currently have, thus adding a second victory in this tournament after their negative streak. Their coach, Leonardo Ramos, remains positive. "It's a great team (U. Católica), they overcame Independiente from Argentina with one man down. We have weapons to overcome them," he said. (D)
Universidad Católica: Galíndez, López, De los Santos, Mosquera, Cortez; Oña, Martínez, J. Chalá, Amarilla, W. Chalá; Vides. DT: Santiago Escobar.
Barcelona SC: Frascarelli, Velasco, González, Erazo, Pineida; Lastra, Montaño, Alemán, Caicedo; Martínez, Álvez. DT: Leonardo Ramos.
Referee: Roberto Sánchez.
Time: 16:15.
Stadium: Olympic Atahualpa.
Broadcast: GolTV.