Sporting Cristal seeks to add a new victory in the Apertura Tournament, to remain at the top of the Accumulated with sights set on the fight for the national title. In matchday 19, the 'Celestes' have a tough match against Carlos A. Mannucci, but they managed to break the tie: Irven Ávila took advantage of a defensive error and scored.
The match was approaching 43 minutes and John Narváez, the Ecuadorian defender of the 'Carlistas', advanced into opposing territory with the intention of causing surprise. However, Horacio Calcaterra was very intelligent to anticipate, recovered the ball, and executed a quick counterattack at the Mansiche Stadium.
The Argentine midfielder, naturalized Peruvian, was free and chose to send a long pass between the lines in search of Irven Ávila. The clearance did not seem to reach its destination, as Uruguayan Luis Nicolás Olivera arrived to clear the ball, although he did not make the most appropriate decision in the end.
Despite having a favorable panorama, the center-back failed when trying to kick with the outside of his left foot and let the ball continue its path. 'Cholito' took advantage of his opponent's carelessness and found himself one on one with goalkeeper Manuel Heredia, whom he beat with a shot towards the near post.
In this way, Irven Ávila scores his seventh goal with Sporting Cristal in the current Liga 1 season. On the other hand, Roberto Mosquera's team temporarily climbs to second place in the Apertura Tournament, with 38 points, while Carlos A. Mannucci falls to 12th place with 20 units.