De Santis and a great assist that he celebrated as a goal: the UnoxUno of an intimate victory to gain confidence for the Cup

He shouted it as if it were his own. He even did the classic celebration of Hernán Barcos’ ‘Pirate’: left hand covering one eye and the other raised. And Barcos, the scorer of the goal, did not hesitate to point him out, give him recognition, celebrate with him. Jeriel de Santis is not experiencing his best moment in Alianza, immersed in criticism for his poor performance. But against UTC he entered in the second half, he showed another side and invented a play to assist the Argentine in the 1-0 against the Cajamarcans for date 14 of the Apertura Tournament League 1 I bet you.

He didn’t score, but he assisted. And it serves to gain confidence. “Little by little we are going to see the Jeriel (De Santis) that we all want”said Barcos after the final whistle. The same thing happens for the Victorian team, which took the three points but not in the desired way. It was a bad game in attack, with a lot of ball possession (71%), many shots (15) but little danger generated: only four shots were on goal. They suffered from imprecision, anxiety and few ideas.

In fact, Only in the 81st minute did the only goal of the game arrive. De Santis received with his back to the goal, controlled and in one movement took out two rivals. He drove, saw the alley and let Barcos serve him to score his 51st goal with the blue and white shirt. Jeriel, for his part, added his second assist. The previous one was also for the ‘Pirate’.

With the presence of Cecilio Waterman still in doubt, it is essential that De Santis gain confidence. He will possibly start on Wednesday against Cerro Porteño. The other option would be Hernán Barcos, although the 40-year-old ‘9’ has shown in the Cup that age takes its toll despite the quality he has on his feet. Against the Paraguayans, Alianza will need a nine that moves throughout the front, who has physical strength to fight with the center backs. And in that scenario, the Venezuelan with Peruvian roots has an advantage.

A solid defense

The match against UTC could serve as an example of what should happen on Wednesday in Matute, with an offensive Alianza – it is obliged to be – and a Cerro Porteño waiting for the counters. Maybe the Paraguayans are not as deep as the Cajamarcans, but the match could happen that way.

In this scenario, the intimate rear continues to provide a lot of security. With the leadership of Carlos Zambrano, the line of three center backs did not have any problems. UTC only had one shot at the goal of Angelo Fields, who didn’t have much work this Friday night. On the sides, Juan Pablo Freytes was the stopper who most accompanied ‘León’, while Jiovany Ramos He accompanied on offense playing one of his best games. In the last ten games, the blue and white have only conceded three goals.

The wingers were more focused on attack. Kevin Serna He stood again on the right, pressed by the wing, losing the surprise that he does have when he plays as a second striker with freedom of movement. Still, it was a headache for the rival side. They had to mark him in a staggered manner in the second half to contain him. In the other side, Jhamir D’Arrigo He almost always reached the baseline, he showed himself as a passing option. He needs to concentrate the plays he has, know how to finish them.

Rodríguez and Neira must always play

Against Cerro, as against UTC, Alianza will need to attack. No result other than victory is useful. Therefore, the midfield will need offensive players. In that sense, Sebastián Rodríguez and Cristian Neira They could have gotten all the tickets. The ‘Mustache’, as a pivot, is the one who builds the Alliance plays and Neira, almost like a ’10’, knows how to position himself behind the rival midfielders to generate danger. Both had a good performance in this match. The same as Catriel Cabellos, a midfielder with a lot of travel, he scores and also attacks. Gabriel Costa, for his part, returned and tried to get into the game although he was irregular. He came out substituted in the second half due to knee pain.

Alianza Lima added 27 points in the Apertura Tournament of League 1 Te Apuesta, six less than the University leader. There are still nine to play. That is, there are chances but they are remote. Even so, those close to them embrace this triumph as a mental lift to face the other “final” – as Barcos called it – against Cerro Porteño.