Mariano Soso understood that if he wanted to tie the game against Patronato, Melgar had to show a different version in the second half. For this reason, the Argentine coach moved his lines forward in the midfield and gave more offensive responsibilities to Horacio Orzán and Matías Martínez. In this way, the latter dared to penetrate through the middle and find the space to score the partial 1-1 at the Presbítero Bartolomé Grella stadium.
It all started with a pass from Orzán to Martínez, who, upon seeing that he had the goal in front of him and no opposition, managed to stay in a shooting zone. However, he played with the movement of the Patronato defenders and made a pass to Cristian Bordacahar, creating the ideal space for a one-two play. The 31-year-old midfielder returned the ball and left him alone to finish against Matías Budino at 53 minutes.
With the partial 1-1, everything indicated that things would improve for Melgar. However, the Paraná team did not give up and immediately took the lead again with the goal from Sergio Ojeda at 59'. This once again showed the multiple lapses that the 'rojinegros' have in the central defense, an area where they have proven to be very fragile in this Copa Libertadores 2023.
Melgar vs. Patronato: What's next
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 Torneo Apertura 2023. The match is scheduled for this Monday, May 8th, starting at 1:00 p.m. and will be played at the Municipal Carlos Vidaurre García stadium, located in the city of Tarapoto.
The 'rojinegros' are not having a good time in the local league and are slowly recovering. In their last match in the Liga 1, they defeated Academia Cantolao 5-1, with goals from Bernardo Cuesta (2), Luis Iberico (2), and Tomás Martínez. Therefore, the Arequipa team is obligated to defeat the 'Poderoso' to climb out of the bottom places 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's Second Division. This match is scheduled for Sunday, May 7th, starting at 7:00 p.m. in Peru and 9:00 p.m. in Argentina, and will be held at the La Ciudadela stadium.
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