The Nation / Full party in the Pot

In front of about 20,000 fans of the Cyclone, the Blue and Red Night began, which served for the presentation of the main squad. "Pantera" Morales received all the cheers, followed by Diego Churín. The party was complete with Cerro Porteño's difficult victory, 2-1, although they still have a lot to improve.

One minute into the game, Cerro's goalkeeper, Jean Fernandes, once again played the hero by first stopping a close-range shot from Árabe, and then he diverted a penalty kick taken by Paraguayan Leonardo Villagra. The Bolivians continued their good play and Jean made his third save. However, at the 19-minute mark, justice was done with Henry Vaca's incredible goal for Oriente Petrolero. Cerro tried to regroup their scattered lines, but couldn't. The performance of the Cyclone in the first half was very poor, it seemed like they had never played together.

At the beginning of the second half, the home team equalized thanks to a header by Juan Patiño. The goal served to motivate the Blue and Red team, and with five minutes left, Cerro won thanks to an own goal by Leonardo Villagra.

As for the basic lineup for the Apertura, the biggest novelty would be the presence of Robert Piris da Motta in the center of the defense, paired with Juan Patiño. Among the newcomers, only Fernando Fernández will start in the match against Ameliano. Against the Bolivians, "La Fiera" often started from the back, leaving Robert Morales as the only reference in the area.

Juan Patiño, captain of the Blue and Red team, referred to the title drought in the past season and valued his team's victory. "We did very well against Oriente Petrolero, we did a great job, we had to treat this match as an official one," said the defender, who scored a goal in the New Olla. "We know that we owe the fans, ourselves, and the management. 2022 was a year of learning for all of us," he said.