Eight expulsions to suffer five defeats: Universitario and the serious problem with the red cards that he has not been able to correct

The stopwatch marked the 73rd minute. The score was even and goalless. And Corinthians, the host, had everything against them: time, the pressure of their fans and the lack of ideas in attack. University, meanwhile, was the other side of the coin. He did not play a good game – his only shot on goal came at 93 ‘-, but he did not suffer in defense either and looked forward to the second leg of the Copa Sudamericana play-off to be played next week at the Monumental. Until Alex Valera appeared… and not to celebrate a goal.

In a totally inoffensive move by the Brazilians, the striker committed a strong foul with an iron shot above his rival’s ankle. The Venezuelan referee Jesús Valenzuela took the yellow card in the first instance, however he received the call from the VAR managers and decided to review the play. It took several seconds to determine what was a fact: a red card for the Peruvian.

“Unnecessary”repeated Daniel Kanashiro, DirecTV narrator. And yes, it was. Unnecessary, reckless, irresponsible and even childish. Alex Valera did not think for a single second in the consequences that he could bring a tackle like that. Because the intention is not discussed, but the vehemence. And there, the ‘U’ goalscorer in the year with twelve goals (eleven in Liga 1 and one in the South American) ended up harming his team.

To make matters worse, six minutes later Corinthians opened the scoring with a great goal from Felipe Augusto. ‘Timao’ ended up winning without doing much in attack, with more intention than specific plays, but thanks to Valera’s imprudence.

It is not the first time that Alex leaves the cream box with ten men, harming the work of his teammates. In fact, the attacker leads the list of expelled in the ‘U’ in this 2023: of the 14 reds that Jorge Fossati’s cast received, three had the name of ‘9’ from Pomalca. And another three from Nelson Cabanillas.

The other two expulsions were due to the Opening Tournament. First against Deportivo Municipal after a tough tackle at 97 minutes and with victory almost assured. He was suspended for one date and when he returned -against Sport Boys- he scored a hat-trick but then saw the red card after attacking each other with Christian Ramos. And he did not stop there: after the game, in front of cameras, he called the referee a “son of p…” although he did not receive any penalty for that.

The Achilles heel of the ‘U’

For Universitario, this 2023 has been some lime and others sand. And his great Achilles heel is in the expulsions he receives. There are 14 reds in total, counting those of José Carvallo and Roberto Siucho in the pitched battle that took place after the match against Gimnasia: ten for Liga 1 and four for Liga Sudamericana.

The expulsions have generated five defeats: 2-0 vs. Manucci, 3-1 vs. Athletic Alliance, 1-0 vs. UTC, 2-0 vs. Santa Fe of Colombia and 1-0 vs. Corinthians. But they also undermined the team in the next game. When Alex Valera was sent off against Sport Boys, the next match was against Alianza Atlético that ended in defeat and three players with red cards.

Universitario will have to improve in that aspect if he wants to continue fighting in the local tournament. In the South American he now has to face the second leg without his scorer and with the task of reversing a 1-0 loss. The replacement would be Emanuel Herrera, who has scored seven goals this year (five for Liga 1 and two for Sudamericana).