The great favorite, the comeback, the crack and how the cardiac Clausura 2023 Tournament will be defined

1. How is the winner of the Clausura Tournament defined?

When the 19th has been played towards the end of October, the club that gets the most points will be champion. Regarding this, calculations, simulations, and data experts have answers depending on the color of the shirt. It is true, for example, that Cristal has won 64% of the points in the province in the last two years (46 out of a possible 72), according to Son Data No Opinions (@sondatos_noop). It is also real that Alianza’s rebound has to do with a notable footballer, Hernán Barcos, who has scored 14 goals and provided 6 assists, like no other in Matute this 2023. And it is real, of course, that Universitario is the team that generates the most scoring chances but its number 9, Alex Valera, has not scored since August 6. 50 days ago.

In any case, in addition to the trophy, there is a million dollars in prizes for League 1 from Conmebol and the FPF. Being sharp in front of the goal is everything.

2. What happens if there is a tie for first place, around the 19th?

The championship rules, article 13, say that the criterion for tiebreakers in points in the table is the greatest goal difference. If equality is maintained in that item, the next point to consider is the greatest number of goals scored. Hence the importance of the fixture that falls to the first four of the Clausura. Melgar (32 points), for example, visited Alianza this Thursday – a key tie – and then has two more games: Mannucci (V), rests and finally receives Binacional (L). The ‘U’ (32) won against César Vallejo in Trujillo 1-0, and this Monday they face UTC (L), go to Cusco FC (V) and close with Huancayo in the Monumental (L). Cristal (30), fell painfully 4-1 in Cusco, after having tied with UTC at the beginning of the week and now, after the national team stoppage, must play against Huancayo (L), Cienciano (V) and Alianza Atlético (L) . Alianza Lima, the two-time champion of League 1 (30) must now play with Binacional (V), ADT (local) and Garcilaso (V). Each point, as you can see, is oxygen.

3. Can Alianza become national champion if it wins the Clausura?

Yes. It would be a knockout blow for light blue, red and black, and creams, especially after the apparent locker room crisis that the Alliance members experienced, after the departure of Guillermo Salas as coach. If Alianza Lima (winner of the Apertura Tournament) also wins the Clausura, they will be national champions without the need for a semifinal or final. In that case, the runner-up will be the club that obtains the next highest score in the accumulated table. His main argument may not be the game – the historical debt -; It is forcefulness: Mauricio Larriera’s team has now gone 10 games without losing in League 1 2023 (10 wins and 4 draws).

4. What possibilities does Melgar have?

He is the Clausura leader, with 32 points. And with Mariano Soso he has found the dose of vertigo – with D’Arrigo or the Argentine Fernández – and authority – in the foot of Archimbaud and the harangue of Cuesta – the path that just a few months ago, put him in the semifinals of the Copa Sudamericana , before Independiente del Valle. Behind, above, repeats a pair of markers with military institute discipline: Galeano and Orzán. This data can explain it better: Melgar is the club with the fewest goals against playing as a visitor in Liga 1 Betsson. And this phrase, almost a mantra, the definition of why the Rojinegros have the first option to win the Clausura: “Melgar is a local soccer powerhouse. I am glad to be in this institution” (Mariano Soso said).

5. Is Hernán Barcos the best Clausura player?

Continuing the long tradition of Argentines who come to Peru and conquer, and goes back, let’s say, to José de San Martín and Oswaldo Cattone, passing through Ricardo Gareca – that is, all the arts -, Hernán Barcos is already considered the most important Alliance in its history. This year alone he has played 29 games and has 14 goals and 6 assists. Journalist Aaron Virhuez, from the newspaper El Diez, writes that he is only 3 points away from equaling the holy spirit César Cueto. And this fact is devastating: if he wins the three-time championship, the Pirate will have more championships than the ‘U’ in twenty years.