Cristal is not enough either: the direct qualifiers, the Peruvian drama in Conmebol | CHRONICLE

Let it not be said that it was not tried, but the word elimination continues to hit Peruvian soccer as long as plays like the one that Washington Corozo missed at the last minute are not taken advantage of. This time it is Cristal who says goodbye to the Copa Sudamericana after drawing 0-0 against Emelec in Guayaquil, since he could not overcome the defeat suffered last week.

The rimenses ended up being victims of themselves. With the sale of Jesús Castillo, Tiago Nunes did not find a suitable replacement and opted for the 3-5-2 that did not work in the first part -Sosa did not transcend-. Only in the second half did he accommodate the team, with Medina on the wing and Alarcón in the middle to have possession and depth. And it served him for the game, but not in the result.

Brenner Marlos had it, Jostin Alarcón or Alejandro Hohberg himself could have scored, but what Corozo missed on the last play still cannot be understood. He had a rebound left and he defined the near post, where goalkeeper Pedro Ortiz was.

Peruvian lament

This is how the Peruvian presence in international tournaments ends prematurely, since both Universitario and Cristal only played the playoffs for the round of 16 of the South American Cup, while Alianza and Melgar stayed in the group stage of the Copa Libertadores.

In the group stage of the South American Cup, Universidad César Vallejo was left and in the first phase of the Libertadores Sport Huancayo said goodbye. Thus, that creams and light blues have reached the playoffs is a great achievement. But the feeling remains that a different story could be written after seeing each meeting.

In this way we went from enjoying seeing Melgar in the semifinals in 2022, the same Sporting Cristal in the quarterfinals of 2021, the same Rimenses and Huancayo in the round of 16 of 2020 to being empty-handed before the round of 16 of the Copa Sudamericana. Not to mention the Libertadores, because since 2013 no Peruvian has made it past the group stage. The reality is that sad.

Since 2017, two eliminated in Phase 3 and the eight third parties in the Copa Libertadores Group Phase have a place in the Copa Sudamericana. But not even at that level is there to compete, except for the honorable exception of Melgar last year.

In the Copa Sudamericana, thirty series have been played between Peruvian and foreign teams – since 2021 Phase 1 is played between rivals from the same country – and the national teams have only surpassed eight heads-up, with Melgar, Cristal and Huancayo as protagonists.

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