Pérez Guedes, the surprise scorer: The ‘U’, a great victory in the “most important game of the year” and why it has an advantage over Cristal in the fight for the Apertura

Pérez Guedes was precisely the man of the afternoon. The Argentine midfielder stood out and scored a double (47′ and 60′) for the 2-1 victory against last-place team Unión Comercio. Last year, Martín had scored three goals. In this one he has two, but both in a match that has been key for the creams.

And Universitario positioned itself as the leader of the Apertura Tournament of the League 1 I bet you. They have 30 points in 12 games, undefeated with nine wins and three draws, and consolidated as the team that has conceded the fewest goals so far (4). The merengue victory is very important. Not only does it put pressure on Cristal (2nd with 28 points) in the fight for the Apertura Tournament title, since the Rimense will now be forced to beat Cusco FC this Sunday (11 am) at the Alberto Gallardo; but they will also arrive with high morale to visit Botafogo on Wednesday for the Copa Libertadores.

“It was very difficult to play with the weather, with the court that was good, but high. We suffered a little from dehydration. Only the boys know what they feel when time goes by and the game becomes more difficult due to the court and temperature. And also for the rival who does not deserve to be in the position he is in. It seems to me that in the first half we could have scored a few goals”said Bustos after the meeting.

The fight for the Apertura: one final at a time

At the beginning of the month (April), there was a concern in Ate: there were seven games coming up in 27 days. But Bustos was always clear with his team. “One final at a time,” he repeated to them. Thus, Universitario showed off its champion badge, the best team in Peruvian soccer currently, and So far they have had four wins (three in League 1 and one in the Cup) and one draw (against Junior in Colombia in the Cup). That is, almost a perfect score.

The ‘U’ has nine games left to close the first part of the year: five for the Apertura and four for the Cup. As of today, it is fighting in both tournaments. And in the local competition he has a certain advantage over Cristal. Basically because on matchday 17, three weeks from now, they will face each other at the Monumental, the fort where the creams have not lost since August of last year, when they fell 2-1 to Corinthians in the Sudamericana; and if we talk at the local level, since last February (2-1 against Alianza Lima).

Universitario has two complicated exits (ADT in Tarma and Cienciano in Cusco), but the merengue team understands that the worst scenario would be to reach the duel against the Rimense with the possibility of breaking the championship. Cristal, for its part, will only travel to a high-altitude city once, on the last day against Comerciantes Unidos in Cutervo. But you should also visit the always complicated Vallejo in Trujillo.

The ‘U’ will go game by game, one final at a time, in search of the first title in the year of its centenary. At Ate they don’t want any surprises, they know they can achieve it and they depend solely and exclusively on them.