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Universidad Católica had the great chance to get into the semifinals of the Copa Sudamericana after having achieved a win as a visitor against Vélez in the first leg, but everything collapsed with a terrible performance in San Carlos de Apoquindo.
Ariel Holan’s team was surpassed on all lines by Mauricio Pellegrino’s team, from the beginning to the end, except for the start of the second half. The crusaders showed their best game until they scored the equalizer with Aued’s penalty. From then on, it was everything for Vélez.
Low individual performance
One of the most praised players after the victory in Buenos Aires was Ignacio Saavedra, who managed to annul Thiago Almada and Ricardo Centurión in the first leg, but could not repeat the performance at home. Bad timing for crosses, Inaccurate starts and the high level of Ricardo Centurión, Pablo Galdames and Federico Mancuello made Saavedra and Aued look very bad.
José Pedro Fuenzalida did not have the same spark as in the first leg, where he was free to move throughout the attack front, and in San Carlos he hardly appeared in the game, except in the stopped balls.
Diego Valencia was not up to the task to replace Fernando Zampedri, and it showed. The 20-year-old forward did not manage to bother the Argentine defense to open spaces, and he could not create auction chances in the game either. Lezcano couldn’t do much either.
Last minute ‘impromptu’ defense
A few minutes after the start of the match, a physical annoyance from Valber Huerta was confirmed, so he was even ruled out of the substitute bench for the duel. Holan opted for Juan Fuentes, who had previously served as a central midfielder, and the bill passed him: the former Estudiantes committed the 1-0 penalty for Vélez.
Belated reaction to changes
Ariel Holan decided to make the first change only at 78 ‘, when Diego Buonanotte entered for Gastón Lezcano, despite the fact that Vélez had been vastly superior during much of the game and the players on the court did not respond in the ideal way, especially in the midfield.
The second change came at 85 ‘, surely with his mind on penalties, since Francisco Silva entered for Ignacio Saavedra. Unfortunately, the ‘Gato’ committed the foul in the middle of the field that culminated with the third goal of the visit.
Squad ‘short’
The departure of César Pinares and Benjamín Kuscevic was felt on this occasion. The crossover box continues to feel the lack of the steering wheel that left Gremio, and Buonanotte, who is the one who is closest to the Chilean game, does not give Holan confidence.
Meanwhile, Valber Huerta’s last minute injury was covered by Juan Fuentes, who originally came to the club as a reinforcement for the defensive part of the midfield.
The lack of another ‘9’ of weight also hurt the crusaders, since in the absence of Fernando Zampedri there is no other powerful name that can replace him in a new way. Diego Valencia is only 20 years old and has not yet managed to reach the level of what the Copa Sudamericana quarterfinals demanded.
Although the current squad is enough to maintain itself as a leader in the National Tournament and being on track for the three-time championship was not enough to dream of an international cup.
