With Britos’ lock on the goal and Dorregaray’s lethal header: the UnoxUno of the ‘U’ triumph over Huancayo to be leader of League 1 I bet you

Flowers for this academic winner, undefeated, leader with 16 points and no goals against in the League 1 I bet you. And although he lived in opposite poles between the guaranteed security of the 540 minutes of lock that Sebastián Britos put on his goal and the lack of a goal suffered by his ‘9’ of the centenary Diego Dorregaray, today he can say that he lives in the emotional balance of celebrate in the two arches.

The front page headline praises Britos, the photo shines with Dorregaray’s shout, but to be fair, the figure of Universitario de Deportes last night at the Monumental Stadium was Martín Pérez Guedes. The dynamism that the midfielder exhibited in the cream midfield was able to defeat the daring arguments with which Sport Huancayo presented itself in Ate.

A formula finally worked for Fabián Bustos from the start: Concha-Pérez Guedes in the midfield. He had tried Gonzáles and Concha on the first dates with more than a disapproving grimace; Then, he tried with Pérez Guedes-Canchita in Cajamarca and there were no lights either, until yesterday he finally decided to film Pérez Guedes with Concha, who were backed by the ferocity that Jorge Murrugarra imposes. The absence of Rodrigo Ureña was not felt in the four dates that ‘Murru’ was a starter for the merengue team.

This is how we saw the 2024 version of the Universitario in its duel against the ‘Rojo Matador’. More versatile than in the past and much more forceful playing at the Monumental.

The arch and defense

Not even in the best of predictions did any fan think that Universitario was going to finish date 6 of the 2024 Apertura Tournament without conceding goals. The hiring of Sebastián Britos, to date and looking at statistics, is the most effective of the centenary year. In six official matches, that is, in 540 minutes he has not conceded goals, and yesterday he went down in the club’s history as the sixth best unbeaten player, surpassing Rubén Correa (502 minutes without goals conceded). The next challenge is to surpass the mark of Dimas Zegarra, who has 639 undefeated minutes in 8 games.

However, for the cream goal to look so safe it is because it has a defensive line in a state of grace. The Corzo-Riveros-Di Benedetto wall overcame one more battle won. Sofascore rates them like this in the match against Sport Huancayo: Corzo (7.0), Riveros (7.3) and Di Benedetto (6.7). Furthermore, in a rehearsal of what we will see in the Copa Libertadores (‘Tano’ is suspended), Marco Saravia came in well to cover the stopper position on the left and earned a rating of 6.9, according to the statistics page already mentioned.

Without complicating the clearances and granting clean exits. Firm on the ground, forceful in the air. The ‘U’ defense is a clockwork that is being tuned to reach this year’s Copa Libertadores with the best level.

Midfield

For next Friday when Universitario visits Deportivo Garcilaso in Cusco we will be able to count on Rodrigo Ureña. In these more than four absent games (he was sent off at 41′ against Atlético Grau), Jorge Murrugarra’s performances have been above expectations. Sofascore rates him 6.9 against Sport Huancayo after dueling against Lliuya, Salcedo and Pérez García, a midfielder who was also undefeated and had only conceded one goal in the Apertura 2024.

Although the focus was on the great performance of Martín Pérez Guedes (7.9, according to Sofascore), without Murrugarra’s firm mark in the middle, we would be commenting on the development of another match. Now, Pérez Guedes has earned a title that he should never have lost. The nationalized Peruvian was one of Jorge Fossati’s regulars last year, but he had started the 2024 campaign from the bench due to the presence of Jairo Concha and Chirstofer Gonzáles.

Fabián Bustos detected in time that, based on the play of Pérez Guedes, the ‘U’ was able to build itself in the midfield. With Concha and Canchita he was not finding that dynamic, he was deciding more on the last name than on the level that both showed on the field. After a small test in Cajabamba, it seems that the Argentine found his new formula with Pérez Guedes and Concha from the start.

Separate paragraph for the first substitute: Horacio Calcaterra. The experienced midfielder gives another air to the team every time he enters. Yesterday he scored two passes. Rivera missed, but Dorregaray answered with joy. ‘Calca’ takes over the middle, breaks lines and helps close out games that can become complicated. He has been key in all the home victories against Grau, Melgar and, now, Huancayo.

Stroke

With no suspensions involved, Bustos now has two pairs on hand for his offensive line. The starters are Edison Flores and Alex Valera, and José Rivera and Diego Dorregaray are waiting on the bench. And Christopher Olivares? He comes further back with fewer possibilities.

Against the Huancaínos, both duos responded amply. The 1-0 came after a breakaway by ‘Orejas’, who searched with a filtered pass to Valera. The play continued with a ball divided between the cream striker and goalkeeper Joel Pinto. The ball was loose and in front of Flores’ feet, who only had to put on his left glove to open the scoring near the end of the first half.

However, frustration is poison for a scorer. Dorregaray felt it and now Valera must suffer it with two games played and without being able to open the personal scoreboard this year. With 1-0 without closing the match against Sport Huancayo, Bustos decided to bring in Rivera and ‘Dorre’. The enthusiasm with which ‘Tunche’ plays is contagious. In front of the rival goal, yesterday he added three right-footed shots and a header that kissed the post of the south goal of the Monumental.

On the other hand, Dorregaray in injury time was able to take advantage of the fact that Calcaterra stole a ball, connected with Canchita Gonzáles and threw a cross at first and left footed to the Argentine’s head. ‘Dorre’ suspended himself in the air and with a great technical gesture he hit a header that beat Joel Pinto.

He already has 3 goals this year (the first two were penalties) and, although he is very far from Martín Cauteruccio’s extraordinary numbers (13 goals), yesterday’s goal serves to calm the waters that threatened to turn into storms if he continued with annotate.

In six days, the ‘U’ has a total of 11 goals. Three of their four forwards have scored. Edison Flores is going through a good moment that should be consolidated from date to date. Tunche Rivera presents better arguments than last year every time he enters. Goal chances are appearing for Diego Dorregaray. The debt will finally be settled when Alex Valera pays his fee. This is a story that has just completed its sixth chapter. The real conclusions await you at the end of the year.