Santiago de Chile, Apr 17 (EFE).- Palestino seeks this Tuesday, at the expense of Estudiantes de Mérida, the recovery in the group stage of the Copa Sudamericana after the 4-0 win suffered two weeks ago in the debut against Fortaleza in key H, which completes San Lorenzo.
Although within the calculations of the ‘four-color’ fans, the defeat on the first day was considered logical, due to the obvious difference between the Chilean and Brazilian leagues, it was not expected to be so forceful, a situation that raises the obstacles for the Chileans to reach the round of 16.
The team led by Pablo Sánchez has not yet started this season: very irregular, combining solid victories with thunderous defeats such as the 1-5 suffered at home last Friday, despite the fact that they started out winning.
Maximiliano Salas opened the scoring after two minutes, but twenty minutes later the visitors had already turned the score around with a brace from Cecilio Waterman.
The statistics show, however, an even match, with greater ball possession for ‘the Arabs’ – who like to play touch and defend themselves with the ball, so the difference was in the effectiveness in front of the goal , something that Palestino does not seem to have this season, since in 10 league games they have barely scored 16 goals.
And they have received 19, which also speaks of the fragility of the defense led by goalkeeper César Rigamonti.
It is true that the team sank after Franco García’s third goal in the 55th minute and the expulsion four after another of its stars, the Chilean international Bruno Barticcioto.
But it is no less true that the sensations that the group transmits in the field are not good.
The match will be played at the El Teniente de Rancagua stadium, as the team does not have an appropriate setting to host international matches.
There, Sánchez could repeat the line-up from Sunday, with the question of whether to keep Barticcioto in the middle or bet on a player with a more defensive profile.
This is one of the positions that the coach has varied the most, who has not yet found a midfielder that convinces him.
STUDENTS, TO GIVE THE SURPRISE
Estudiantes de Mérida arrives in Chile with the hope of taking advantage of the irregularity of ‘the Arabs’ to surprise and score the first three points after their defeat against Almagro’s team on the first day.
The Venezuelans are tenth in their league, with just three victories in ten games and a similar fragility in both areas that has led them to score only 14 goals and conceded 15.
The last two in last week’s game at home against Metropolitans, who took the victory with two goals in added time.
Everything points to the fact that on the crushed grass of Rancagua, the coach Ali Cañas will repeat eleven with the Panamanian Ervin Zorrilla at the point of attack and the international Jesús Gómez, a 38-year-old football globetrotter with more than a dozen clubs, as a reference man in the center of the field.
In the other Group H match, Fortaleza and San Lorenzo will meet on Wednesday in Argentine territory.