The awakening of ‘Aladdin’
Cueva has been criticized because he was not being that determining player that he is when you saw the bicolor. He was not appearing in the games that he played and his presence did not contribute much to the team. However, against Binacional, in Matute, ‘Aladino’ woke up. He has played his best game of the season. And he capped off his performance by scoring a goal. He had not scored, at the club level, since February 27, 2022 when he was at Al Fateh in Saudi Arabia.
But ‘Cuevita’ not only scored, he also participated in the goals conceded by Reyna and Barcos, with whom the national team midfielder has gotten along very well. The midfielder has been more precise and with more creativity than in previous matches. It is expected that he will continue to improve, as Alianza needs him in optimal conditions for the Libertadores. Before Binacional, he has shown great progress.
The smell of the Boats
The ‘Pirata’ Barcos once again showed his goalscoring ability, scoring a double for Binacional (a goal in each half). Thus, he was two goals away from becoming the top foreign scorer who passed through the intimate club, an honor held today by the Brazilian Rosinaldo Lopes (with 37). What’s more, the Argentine striker was able to score a hat-trick in the penalty he had, but he preferred to make a move with Pablo Lavandeira so that he scored his goal, which speaks of the solidarity and leadership that the intimate attacker has.
Barcos is not the starter for Alianza, but when he has had to start he has generally done well, as he not only has a nose for scoring, but also contributes to offensive plays. And if he has to give up the ball for another of his teammates to score the goal, he does it. At 39, he remains a key player in the Victorian squad.
Good game by the extremes
In Alianza’s offensive against Binacional, the game of the wingers also stood out. Bryan Reyna, for example, had a great performance. It was, in fact, a headache for Jack Durán and Yonatan Murillo. He did his thing on his left flank with his dribbles and was also able to score a goal, the third he has scored so far in the Apertura.
On the right side, Franco Zanelatto also made a contribution and was even about to score a goal after receiving a good pass from Christian Cueva. Later, ‘Gabi’ Costa joined and did well, connecting with the team, especially with ‘Pirata’ Barcos. Visiting defender Anthony Rosell couldn’t stop him.
castle was vital
Although it is true that the blue and white offense was fine-tuned in the duel against ‘Poderoso del Sur’, the intimate midfield also stood out, especially Jesús Castillo, who was very important in midfield. He won most of his duels ‘hand to hand’ (5 of 8) and had an accuracy of 89%, both data according to the specialized website SofaScore statistics. This same page rated his performance at 7.7.
And he gave him that score because of the good game he showed and because he was the one who opened the scoring, by making it 1-0. It is the first goal that he has scored in Liga 1 (besides his two assists that he has given). The young player of 21 years has established himself as a starter in the ‘eleven’ of ‘Chicho’ Salas.
Alliance must focus on the Libertadores
Now that the intimate team has already won the Apertura, their next objective should be to continue advancing in the Copa Libertadores. Currently, Alianza is last in Group G, surpassed by Libertad from Paraguay and by Atlético Mineiro and Paranaense from Brazil. It is in a difficult situation, but the grone team still has options to advance or, at least, to be in third place to be able to access the ‘playoffs’ of the round of 16 of the Copa Sudamericana.
Alianza has two complicated games left in this continental tournament. And it is that he must face the two clubs from Brazil. First, they will receive Atlético Mineiro and, later, they will close their participation against Paranaense in Curitiba. Both duels, without a doubt, will be life or death encounters for the blue and white eleven.
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