Sporting Cristal
Sporting Cristal showed a good collective level, but was not effective in attack and ended up losing 0-2 to Nacional from Paraguay in the Copa Libertadores. The Peruvian team had two mistakes and the Paraguayans took advantage of them to get ahead in the last playoff before the group stage.
PUEDES VER: Lora missed the equalizer for Sporting Cristal against Nacional with a powerful shot on the post.
In that sense, Alejandro Hohbberg, the striker of the Peruvian club, spoke after the match and caught attention not only for the team's regret, but also for his challenging message. The number 10 of Sporting Cristal stated that the second leg will be different and they will still reverse the score.
"Maybe we lacked a bit of efficiency, a bit of luck. And well, they converted in two very specific moments. One at the beginning of the second half. A lack of attention and we paid dearly for it," he began saying in SportCenter.
"In the second half we had clearer chances. In one, their goalkeeper responded well and in another we lacked better finishing. But well, we leave with a bitter taste because of that last goal that hit us, but we are still going to reverse it in Lima," he added strongly.
As seen during the match, Sporting Cristal was playing well in Asuncion, until Mathias Martinez surprised them at the beginning of the second half. Then, almost at the end of the match, Gustavo Aguilar sealed the game with another header goal.
When does Sporting Cristal vs. Nacional play the second leg?
Finally, it is important to mention that Sporting Cristal vs. Nacional will play the second leg on Tuesday, February 28, at 19:00 hours in Peru and 21:00 hours in Paraguay, at the National Stadium.