Quispe’s mischief and Ureña’s determination leave the ‘U’ with faith intact: the UnoxUno of the first final against Alianza

Raised kicking life as a child in his beloved Conchalí, in the northern sector of Santiago de Chile, Run, remove, pass, sweep, kick; that is, he leads. The great foreign signing of the year and the Centennial. In his strong style lies hope for the ‘U’ to turn around again in Matute 24 years later.

The 1-1 score felt like a blow in the pit of the stomach at Universitario. The tie tastes sweet for the blue and white. There were 90 minutes of creamy dominance, and a play in stoppage time that leaves the key open for Wednesday, November 8.

How did we see the ‘U’ players in the first classic that defines League 1 Betsson 2023? Strong in the middle, careless in defense and imprecise in attack.

Bow and defense

José Carvallo spent the game as a luxury spectator. Alianza almost didn’t rush him, and together with his defense he played another game without conceding goals this year at the Monumental. However, when at 90+2′ Bryan Reyna beat Andy Polo and left Williams Riveros like a post, the cream goalkeeper did not come out in time to prevent Gabriel Costa from scoring again in 2023 at the Monumental.

Matías Di Benedetto did not arrive on time either. Nelson Cabanillas is not even in the photo. The ‘U’ played a respectable game in defense. The Sofascore statistics page rated them as follows: Corzo (7), Riveros (6.7), Di Benedetto (6.9), Polo (7.7) and Cabanillas (7.4).

Midfield

Rodrigo Ureña was, before Alianza Lima, the example of what is now asked of a containment midfielder. With a 7.1 rating from SofaScore, the Chilean’s heat map covers the entire Monumental midfield. Although he won 4 of the 6 duels he had against Alliance rivals, the best of his repertoire was noted in the 18 long passes completed. He made more than 100 passes and 78% effectiveness when finding another cream shirt.

Martín Pérez Guedes tried to be Polo’s partner in attack. The Argentine’s hustle and bustle is as noticeable as his inconsequentiality near the rival area. If everything that runs was graphed in concrete scoring opportunities, yesterday the ‘U’ would not have gone with a long face to wait for the second final.

What about Piero Quispe is exciting. Not only in the ‘U’. After the finals, it is only fair that the creative cream has a chance in the Peruvian team. Yesterday he led the statistics. More duels won (7), more dribbles completed (3), more key passes (2) and he finished 5 of the 7 long passes he attempted.

Stroke

For the television broadcast, the figure on the field was Alex Valera, hero of the first final until the blue and white tie. He returned to the ‘U’ starting eleven to pair with Edison Flores and reached a rating of 6.7 in SofaScore statistics. However, to enter the history of the finals against the classic rival, a penalty is not enough. Still missing, Matute can witness his revenge in front of the goal.

Edison Flores, for his part, had an impact on the attacking front (SofaScore gave him 6.2). He teamed up well with Cabanillas on the left. He always looked for Quispe to play on the wall. He leaned on Valera every chance he had. On three occasions he came close to scoring, and was even able to make it 1-0 if Kevin Ortega did not take a foul against Angelo Campos. Orejas has already won the title. They brought him in so that he could become champion with the ‘U’. On Wednesday the 8th, in La Victoria, history will challenge him in his career.