By Mariano López V.
Had a special guest sitting in the west stand of the Monumental Stadium in Ate. His curly hair and central defender demeanor made him unmistakable, both for those who enjoyed his best times at Barcelona and for those who could only enjoy his fierce game through YouTube videos. His name? Carles Puyol, three-time Champions League winner, World champion, and six-time La Liga winner, among many other achievements.
The game in question, a match between Universitario and Cristal, had to live up to expectations. And it did, but the final result didn't benefit either team in the Apertura table.
'U' and the 'cerveceros' (brewers) gave everything on the field, each in their own way. Coco Araujo's team tried to build confidence from the back to the front, with a compact low block and quick transitions from defense to attack, while Roberto Mosquera's team, hit by the recent elimination from the Copa Libertadores, relied on their unmistakable possession game.
YOU CAN SEE: He was onside! The blatant mistake by the linesman that disallowed Cristal's 1-0
The dominance was marked: the home team destroyed and the visiting team built. However, football, always unpredictable, put the cremas (creams) ahead first thanks to José Zevallos (29'). Then, with a right-footed shot, defender Gianfranco Chávez equalized the game (35').
The second half showed an improvement from Universitario, starting with the substitution of Jesús Castillo and the entrance of Martín Távara in the baja pontino team. Piero Quispe took advantage of the spaces and the merengues (meringues) could have won it at the end, but Renato Solís stood tall and the score remained 1-1.
Thus, 'U' remained in fifth place with 25 points (after 15 matches) and Cristal, with one more point, occupies third place (after 14 matches). The problem, at this stage of the championship, is that both teams have fewer points and more matches played than Melgar and Sport Huancayo. Today, even Alianza Atlético, Alianza Lima, and Binacional could surpass them.
YOU CAN SEE: San Borja: fans cause destruction and burn delivery worker's motorcycle
Piero Quispe, Universitario midfielder
"The intention was to win. Cristal is a team that plays, defends, and has quality players. We just missed scoring. I missed one. Against Melgar, we will play a final. We will go with a winning mindset."
The fact
Results. In the other two Saturday matches, San Martín defeated Carlos Stein 3-1 as the home team, and Cienciano, in Cusco, overcame UTC 3-2.