How much advantage did Sporting Cristal lose in the Clausura?
In matchday 11, Sporting Cristal had a rest and had 24 points, being the absolute leader of the Clausura Tournament, and even so, at the end of the day they were two points ahead of Universitario, four ahead of Alianza Lima, and five ahead of Melgar. It seemed impossible for them to lose their position.
However, in matchday 13, the team led by Tiago Nunes drew with Sport Boys and things went downhill. Universitario caught up in points, Alianza got two points behind, and Melgar got three points behind. Despite this, there was calm in Rímac because the mentioned teams still had to rest and it was the perfect time to retake the top, not to mention that the celestes had not yet played against the cremas.
Unfortunately for the cremas, in matchday 15, when the 'U' had a rest, they couldn't take advantage and drew with UTC at home, and a week later they were defeated 4-1 by Cusco as visitors. In this way, Sporting Cristal went from being a comfortable leader of the Clausura Tournament to being fourth and with no possibilities of winning the championship.
What needs to happen for Sporting Cristal to reach the semifinals of the Liga 1?
For Sporting Cristal to reach the semifinals of the Liga 1, they must defeat Alianza Atlético and hope that Universitario loses to Sport Huancayo at the Monumental. If the merengues draw, the celeste team will be forced to win by a minimum of 3 goals difference to surpass them in the accumulated table. If the U' wins, everything will be lost for the bajopontino team.