The fight to reach the final of the Liga 1 2022 between Sporting Cristal and Melgar will have a second chapter on Sunday at 3 p.m. at the National Stadium.
The team led by Pablo Lavallén won the first leg of the semifinals thanks to a double by Luis Iberico; however, the rimenses still have ninety minutes to change the history.
Although the rojinegros arrive in Lima with a slight advantage, those from Rímac do not give up, as they know what it takes to reverse adverse scores. "The tie is not closed yet. We are a team that has risen from difficult situations. We are used to not having good results and getting up," said Roberto Mosquera, who tried to explain his unusual lineup.
"There has been a virus that affected Calcaterra, Pretell, me, the physical trainer, a stomach issue that I don't know why it happened. We had to make a different approach, we changed the system several times during the match, which in other matches gave us results but not now," he added.
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On the Arequipa side, there is confidence, but they are not overconfident. Pablo Lavallén indicated that "thank God, things went well, but nothing has been won yet, there are still 90 minutes in Lima and they will surely be very complicated. What we can rescue is that we realized that we are up to the task and we showed it throughout the 95 minutes that were played."
Another important detail is that both teams have already faced each other this season in Lima. At that time, the result was a 2-2 draw, a score that the locals will not want to repeat, as it would leave them out of the competition for the national title.
What does Cristal need?
In the first leg of the Liga 1 semifinals, the rimenses stumbled 0-2 against the 'Dominó' at the Monumental de la UNSA in Arequipa, so they are obligated to win in the return leg and by a result greater than the two goals conceded by the rojinegro.
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In other words, the celestes will have to score three goals or more if they want to play the final of the Liga 1 against Alianza Lima on November 9th and 12th. If they win by only two goals, it would lead to a penalty shootout. If Melgar wins or draws the match on Sunday, Lavallén's team will qualify for the final.
The celeste club is training for the final. Photo: Sporting Cristal
According to the rules of the Peruvian tournament, if there is a tie in the final overall score (there is no away goal rule), the winner of the tie will be determined in a penalty shootout, without having to go through extra time.
It should be noted that Cristal reached the semifinals of the Liga 1 after securing first place in the accumulated standings. As for Melgar, the Arequipa team wrote their name among the top three of the year after winning the Apertura Tournament and did not directly qualify for the final for not occupying the top two places in the accumulated standings. Undoubtedly, Sunday will be a battle of strategies where the best will take their name to the fight for the national title.
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Did you know...
Together. The sports psychologist Marcelo Roffé, who is part of Néstor Lorenzo's coaching staff, is in our country and gave a talk to the Arequipa squad before the match against Cristal in the first semifinal.
Reactions
Alexis Arias, Melgar player
"We played as the coach planned. We looked for opportunities from different sides and I think it worked out that way. Now we have to go out and press Cristal and then play the way we know how. It will be a final."
Joffré Escobar, Cristal player
"The tie is not closed yet, we have 90 minutes in Lima and we are calm about that. We have to do our job there and wait and prepare for Sunday's match."