Why would Fossati's 'U' be a better team collectively than Larriera's Alianza?

• March and kayak: the Peruvian cards that empower us with medals in Santiago 2023

If we take the current moment of both teams, Jorge Fossati's team arrives in better form due to having won the Clausura and because it feels like more of a team than Alianza. The reason? They don't depend on a single individual, like Hernán Barcos' team. In the final stretch, the cremas have had different protagonists who have guided them in each step towards these finals of the tournament.

When Alex Valera was going through a significant goal drought, other players took the lead, such as Luis Urruti, a key piece in the last few rounds. The same goes for Edison Flores, who appealed to his hierarchy to score that first goal against Sport Huancayo. In the same vein, Piero Quispe, named the best player of the Clausura, was always a 'support wheel' when the team couldn't find its form.

On the other hand, at Alianza, beyond a good first few months from Bryan Reyna, Pablo Sabbag, Andrés Andrade, among others, the player who has always been there throughout the year, especially in the last few rounds, is Hernán Barcos. The 'Pirate' was the player that Larriera needed to reach the last matchday with the possibility of securing the tricampeonato without a playoff. The Argentine has scored 17 goals and provided six assists, and has been involved in 42% of Alianza's goals this year, which demonstrates the importance of the striker.

That 'Barcodependency' that many have labeled is felt if the player doesn't have a good game or if their opponents manage to neutralize them. When that has happened, neither Gabriel Costa, Christian Cueva, nor anyone else has been able to take Barcos' place to lead Alianza. Barcos may be arriving at his best moment of the year because he has scored the last five goals for the blanquiazules in the Clausura (he alone has given them nine of the last 11 points).

There is no doubt that Barcos' presence in the Alianza team is of utmost importance. Alianza depends today on the appearance of the 'Pirate' to be able to score, depending more on a player than on the collective or other protagonists. This is different from the 'U', which at the moment has more than one player to guide them in case one doesn't show up. Both Larriera and Fossati will have to take precautions.

Subscribe to our newsletter: we will send you the best sports content, as Depor always does.