It was evident that if Melgar wanted to come out victorious from the Presbítero Bartolomé Grella stadium, they should not make such childish mistakes from the beginning. However, this did not happen and a bad pass from Bernardo Cuesta exposed many weaknesses of the Arequipa team: Juan Esquivel captured the ball in the center of the field and, after embarking on a fast run towards the goal protected by Carlos Cáceda, he comfortably defined to put Patronato up 1-0.
Everything originated from a miscalculation by 'Berni', who tried to connect with Pedro Ibáñez from the left side. The right back was unable to control the ball and Esquivel overcame him to be one on one with Leonel Galeano. The Argentine center back was poorly positioned and did not have the space to interrupt the play, allowing the 22-year-old striker to be alone in front of Cáceda.
A few centimeters away from the 'rojinegro' goalkeeper, the '7' took a risk and got rid of him with a subtle touch to the right, ending up in front of the opponent's goal without opposition to score the advantage for the Paraná team. This goal surprised Mariano Soso's team, who will have to step on the gas if they do not want to be exposed to a possible defeat in Argentina.
Melgar vs. Patronato: what's coming up
After this match for Matchday 3 of Group H of the Copa Libertadores, Melgar will play again next week when they visit Unión Comercio for the fifteenth matchday of the Apertura 2023 Tournament. The match is scheduled for this Monday, May 8th, starting at 1:00 p.m. and will take place at the Municipal Carlos Vidaurre García stadium in the city of Tarapoto.
The 'rojinegros' are not having an easy time in the local league and are slowly recovering. In their last match in Liga 1, they defeated Academia Cantolao 5-1, with goals from Bernardo Cuesta (2), Luis Iberico (2) and Tomás Martínez. Thus, the Arequipa team is obliged to defeat the 'Poderoso' to move up from the bottom positions in the standings, as they are currently in 16th place with 11 points.
Patronato, on the other hand, will have activity again this weekend when they visit San Martín de Tucumán for Matchday 15 of the Primera Nacional in Argentine football – Second Division. This match is scheduled for Sunday, May 7th, at 7:00 p.m. Peru time and 9:00 p.m. Argentina time, and will be held at the La Ciudadela stadium.
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