Nacional beats Envigado, leads and qualifies for Playoffs

He did his homework and will travel safely to Asunción. Atlético Nacional beat Envigado 3-0 at the Atanasio Girardot to reach 31 points and thus ensure in the lot of classifieds of the League I-2021, an objective that allows him to lower the pressure levels to focus on the key with Freedom that will define the entrance to the group stage of the Copa Libertadores.

Although the scoreboard dictates otherwise, the leader did not make a showy game, despite recovering three stellar chips: Candelo, Gómez and Álvez. He still does not meet again with that image that he left in the 180 minutes with Guaraní, the best of the Guimarães era, but they carried out the commitment, took advantage of their moments and became the first insured team in the group of eight.

The game resolved it in a still ball at 32 ‘. Michael Chacón was uncovered as a collector to score his first as much as purslane. Thus not only did he unlock the chapter, which at that point dominated the orange with the guidance of Yeison Guzmán, but also cut a drought of almost two years: Nacional had not achieved a goal with a free kick in the League since May 2019, when Daniel Bocanegra he resolved that way against Cali in full home runs.

Before taking advantage, Verde endured a dizzying start to the rhythm of a young squad that managed to scare him with the ball that crashed on the post in a counterattack that José Hernández finished with his shot and that Aldair Quintana managed to deflect, to save next to the horizontal to his companions, who had failed with their laboratory in a stopped ball.

It was enough for Guzmán to register another situation and Jhon Jader Durán tested Quintana, but with the 1-0 the loads were balanced and it was no longer so easy for the visitor to progress in the game, despite the fact that the ‘Guima’ team was not clear and Alex Castro was in debt due to the bands, in addition to being the most imprecise piece.

Among the few that had purslane as a whole in the first part, he highlighted a shot from the Andrade Rifle and the chance that ‘Loco’ Álvez lost, who sent the ball over the top, an action that was repeated in the complement to be indebted to the definition.

At the rhythm of Duque and Andrade came the win

Although he secured possession, the nationalist squad could not hurt due to his lack of depth. Again, Castro failed in his decisions and went too far in transportation. Neither did the creatives shine. Even Jarlan Barrera ended up being substituted to make way for Jéfferson Duque, who moved well and had two clear options, but could not resolve. In one he took a bitten shot and in the other it took time to finish and gave Yilmar Celedón the time to make the closing.

For the cast of Andrés Orozco, who made merits to equalize and apparently was finishing the game better, Jader Maza got the best offensive situations, but Quintana intervened and in the middle distance he was not so clear.

Forgiving at those times gave the yard owner the opportunity to fix his finishing problems on the fly. In an individual play of the Rifle at 90 ‘, Duque headed 2-0 to shake off the criticism. And a couple of minutes later, the same protagonists reversed the roles to decree the win with a goal shared by Andrade and goalkeeper Felipe Parra.

On matchday 18, Nacional will have to face Deportivo Cali in Palmaseca after their cup test in Asunción (Wednesday 7:30 pm). For its part, Envigado will receive Deportivo Pereira in the Parque Estadio Sur.