Silveira show as Nacional stay top

Week 10 in Uruguay's Primera División held no big surprises. Most of the favourites filled their role nicely and were victorious. Among them: Nacional, Danubio and Peñarol.

Ligüera shows his class again in Nacional's win over River (Photo: nacional.uy).

Hugo Silveira was the key figure for Nacional this weekend. In a 3-1 win over River Plate on Sunday evening, the striker assisted on all three goals. The Tricolor was up 2-0 early through goals from Kevin Ramírez (13') and Sebastián Fernández (24'). Inside a packed Gran Parque Central, the home team profited from an early red card for the visitors. Fernando Gorriarán went showering early after a stunningly poor tackle on Viudez after just ten minutes. 

Domination continued in the second half and Martín Ligüera made his presence felt instantly after coming on. While his first magnificent attempt went stopped after he left the whole defense stranded behind him, the second try worked out for him. Following a strong run and precise cross from Silveira, Ligüera was there to head it home for a three-goal lead. 

Despite Mathías Saavedra getting a goal back via penalty three minutes later (74'), the win was never under much threat. A good save from Esteban Conde later, the match was a success. Nacional stay on top of the Apertura table after their eigth win in ten games. 

Danubio following closely

Equally successful is just one team: Danubio. The bottom feeders from last year have recovered tremendously and added another win this weekend. Against Boston River, they managed to showcase their comeback qualities, winning 1-2 after coming from behind. Pablo Ceppelini gave the promoted team a first half lead (29') with a shot from the edge of the area. 

While Danubio had already been the better team throughout the first half, collecting the lionshare of opportunities. They finally made it count after a good hour. Damián Malrechauffe's effort was saved by Boston's goalkeeper, but was it in front of or behind the line? The replay angle was not highly conclusive.

A goal or not? 

Six minutes from the end, Joaquín Ardaiz decided the game with yet another weird goal. The player was already on the ground, but somehow managed to get a leg to the ball near him. The push was enough to take it past goalkeeper and line. Conclusively, you might want to add, this time around.

Peñarol discover goalscoring form

Peñarol have celebrated their second win in a row and third of the season. Yellow and black managed to beat Sud América 4-1 away from home. Things were looking grim early on for Peñarol yet again, when they fell down 1-0 through a Gonzalo Camargo strike after 17 minutes. This time around, Fernando Curutchet's men found a way back at an important time. Right before the break, Junior Arias of all people equalised for the visitors. 

After struggling to find the net for the opening 7 weeks, the striker has now scored three goals in as many games. It was the start of a strong second half that saw Peñarol score another three. Nicolás Albarracin (65'), Diego Rossi (75') and Nicolás Dibble (86') all got on the scoresheet later on. Not only does this win give their team the well-needed points. Additionally, a comeback win allows them to grow their confidence that is at a low seeing their 12-point gap to archrivals Nacional on top.

Elsewhere around the league

Montevideo Wanderers held onto third place in the table despite a 0-0 draw against Plaza Colonia. Liverpool, that could have jumped past them, lost their own game to Fénix, 1-0. Matias Mirabaje scored his second goal of the season for the home team.

Defensor Sporting needed a last minute winner from Facundo Castro to beat Rampla Juniors away. Racing convinced early on, bagging three quick goals away to Cerro. The home team nearly came back through two penalties from Maureen Franco and Pablo Caballero. It remained 2-3 at the end. 

Villa Española stay bottom of the league after a 1-1 draw with Juventud. Pablo Silva equalised for Villa in the second half after Leandro Zapze had given the home team the lead early on. 

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Man shot in Uruguay leads to match suspension

The Uruguayan league match between Rampla Juniors and Peñarol was suspended at halftime last night. Reason for the stoppage in the Estadio Centenario was the shooting of a man near the bathrooms of one of the stadium exits.

Blood ahead of one the Centenario bathrooms (Photo: ovaciondigital.com.uy).

Throughout the first half, people could concentrate on a game that was not a particularly good one for Peñarol once again. Down 1-0 to freshly promoted Rampla Juniors, they had to come up with some ideas to turn things around. As it turned out, football sadly took a backseat to other incidents. 

A man nearby bathroom door 10 of the Amsterdam grandstand took two bullets to arm and leg and was taken to the hospital right away. According to Sport 890, he is in stable condition. Furthermore, another person had to be attended to after being present in the same bathroom after the crime. According to several reports, the confrontation took place due to drug issues.

Questionable meanwhile the security around Estadio Centenario: Instead of conducting body searches, only metal detectors were in place for the match on Sunday night. Rightly, the police decided they could not guarantee safety of the spectators anymore and called off the game immediately.

It is uncertain when (and if) the second 45 minutes between the two sides are going to be played. One thing that is clear is the stadium will need to step up security wise.

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Big guns show mediocrity in Uruguay

When it comes to being favourites in the Uruguayan Primera División, two names quickly arise to the top of all discussions - for a good reason. Peñarol and Nacional share the lionshare of fans throughout the small nation among the Río de la Plata. Their performances in recent weeks have most certainly not lived up to the traditionally high expectations. 

Four games into the new season and after a lot of promising summer signings for both teams, Nacional and Peñarol find themselves positioned in midfield of the table. The latter have collected only five points thus far, currently one point behind their archrivals. Issues are ever-present on both sides, but of completely different nature. 

Peñarol

Disappointment about the lack of goals (Photo: peñarol.org).

Possessing the shared-best defense in the league is a sign that would usually make you a title contender. But not so fast: Peñarol have one big problem, a surprising one you might find after summer signings of the goalgetters Gastón Rodríguez and Junior Arias. During the past Clausura, both players found themselves on top of the league's scoring sheet with 16 and 10 goals respectively for their previous teams Wanderers and Liverpool. Now they scored zero goals. Considering the fact they were supposed to be Peñarol's new striking force, it is quite obviously a key area that explains what is going wrong. 

Two goals in four games simply will not crack it in a league, where a goal can always be scored out of nowhere, for literally any team, as proven by Plaza Colonia last season. Did Gastón Rodríguez' numbers last season fool the fans in yellow and black? Let us be clear that last season was unusual for him and off the charts. 16 goals in 14 games were simply outstanding. In no other half year in his career did Rodríguez score more than six goals, mostly even less. Certainly, he is a great striker for Uruguayan league standards. 

However, Peñarol has to be aware that him alone will not win them the championship, without according support from midfield. Junior Arias on the other hand is still young, 23 years of age, while consistently having improved throughout the past years. It was the player's dream to play for the club after improving from 6 to 9 to 10 goals in the Primera. He received the chance and has not really impressed so far either.

On the bright side, the aforementioned defense has been strong so far. In front of talented goalkeeper Gastón Guruceaga, the back four has seen several changes through injury or performance. One thing that did not change were the three clean sheets to start the year. 

Nacional

Focal point Martin Ligüera (Photo: nacional.uy).

If anything is not a problem for Nacional, it is the offense. They at least managed one goal in each of their four games, mixing their goalscorers around nicely, with nearly every striker scoring already. Sebastián Fernández and Martín Ligüera twice, Kevin Ramírez and Tabaré Viudez once each. Particularly apart from the 3-2 win over Plaza Colonia, it has not been all that convincing either though. 

Martin Ligüera's technical magic alone was the reason for the most recent win, when he scored from a direct freekick on the edge of the area against Fénix. The only other chance that game came from another set piece, when Mauricio Victorino headed just wide in the first half. Way too often, Martín Lasarte's men were seen playing through the middle with high balls. It is not really explicable considering the absence of a true proven number nine, unless you want to call the new signing Hugo Silveira that. 

Defensively, captain Diego Polenta and Jorge Fucile did not exactly bring the necessary stability back with them from their absences. This recently even led to Diego Espino rotating out of the first eleven to make room for Colombian Sergio Otalvaro. Nacional's defensive problems have translated straight over to the new season and could not be fixed under Lasarte so far. One thing that might help the back four is a little more balance with the defensive midfielders. Santiago Romero and Gonzalo Porras have found themselves caught in possession too often during the first weeks. Making sure to always have one player support the backline could work wonders and leave goalkeeper Esteban Conde with a little more hair on his head.

The near future

It is likely that eventually Rodríguez and Arias will start to score goals for Peñarol. Especially Arias' development speaks for a bright future for the young striker after getting used to his new surroundings. If they do not get it done, there is still Miguel Murillo in coach Pablo Bengoechea's backhand. Their defense should remain decent as the season progresses. 

Nacional on the other hand needs to fix several issues, but especially defensively. Who is going to do that? I do not know. On paper, they are good enough to play solid at the very least. However, when it comes to the on-pitch product, there is severe room for improvement. The fact that they somewhat rely on Ligüera offensively by now is not good considering his age, but should keep going well in the near future still. 

The good news for both is clearly that top of the table Danubio only collected nine points so far too, followed by several clubs with eight points. By having one good weekend, both teams would be right back in the mix to play for the title in Uruguay. That is the beauty of South American football. 

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Diego Forlán leaves Peñarol after realising dream

Following his long-dreamed-of triumph in Uruguay's Primera División final against Plaza Colonia, Diego Forlán has announced to leave Peñarol. 

Says goodbye with a trophy: Diego Forlán. (Photo: unionradio.net)

His dream came true at the very end. Diego Forlán, most prolific figure of his country for many years, won the Uruguayan championship in his final game for Peñarol. A 3-1 win over Plaza Colonia in added time at the Estadio Centenario was all Cachavacha and his family had wished for.

Arriving back home a year ago from Cerezo Osaka in the second Japanese league, there were doubts regarding Forlán's potential to be one of the leading players for Peñarol. He brushed them aside early on by scoring two goals against Montevideo Wanderers in his first friendly appearance. There was never any doubt about his influence on Uruguayan football and the league off the pitch. As a figurehead, he excited not only fans of his new club, but across South America.

Forlán's league performances were mixed throughout the year and turned better continuously towards the end of the Apertura. His vision set him apart from large parts of his opponents in Uruguay. The 37-year old produced magnificent assists in the process and shone one last time back home. Four goals and eight assists during the first part of the year, another four plus four in the Clausura.

Peñarol's general level of play experienced a large drop of quality in that second half of the football year. Despite their early and disappointing Copa Libertadores exit, Forlán and his colleagues could not pick it back up in the league anymore. A continued stumble behind Plaza Colonia led to second place and a final against the aforementioned promoted team from Eduardo Espinel.

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Peñarol ended up profiting from a late red card against their opponents in extra-time. Diego Forlán himself stepped up and assisted the winning goal shortly after. Clearly an appropriate way to go out for Uruguay's legend and the club he wished to play for since his childhood days. His father Pablo (70) defended the same colours from 1963 to 1970.

The most important aspects of his time in yellow and black will not be goals or assists. It will be the countless times he produced smiles on people's faces, from his dad to the countless fans of the club. For a year, Uruguay's league felt very special and rightfully so in the light of the World Cup 2010 Golden Ball winner. The long-lost son leaves with many memories. Where will we see him next?

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Peñarol steal a lucky point from Nacional

On Sunday afternoon local time, it was finally time for the Clausura Clásico between Peñarol and Nacional. The venue: Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, which was nicely filled despite the persistent rain in Uruguay's capital. 

Exciting clash between two bitter rivals in Montevideo. (Photo: ovaciondigital.com.uy)

Personnel

Nacional were forced into two changes from the Copa Libertadores outing against Boca Juniors. As expected, striker Nico López and Kevin Ramírez could not play and were replaced by Christian Tabó and Léo Gamalho. 

Peñarol made four changes from their 3-0 win over Villa Teresa last weekend. Diego Forlán, Miguel Murillo, Nahitan Nández and Luis Aguiar replaced Diego Rossi, Hernán Novick, Christian Palacios and Nicolás Albarracín. 

First half

No tiredness to be seen early on from Nacional after playing Copa Libertadores football in midweek. They were on the front foot right away and created their first opportunity before a minute was played. Gamalho's header went right into the arms of Gastón Guruceaga. After about 10 minutes, Tabó tried his luck with a lob that sank dangerously and was tipped over the bar by Peñarol's goalkeeper eventually.

It took the home team a while to get into the game, as their first chance came shortly after the quarter hour mark. Nández arrived a little too late at the far post to convert Forlán's decent deep cross. Nacional added two chances through Fucile from distance and Gamalho just missing a header, while Peñarol had the biggest opportunity of the half. After Forlán made Fucile look a little silly at the back, Murillo could not reach the cross of his striking partner at the far post.

After a great start from Nacional who showed no tiredness in the first half, Peñarol got into the game a little better after quarter of an hour and produced some first chances. Especially Diego Forlán proved instrumental going forward yet again and had his foot in every chance. The rest of the first 45 minutes was even between the two foes and rightfully ended tied at zero.

Second half

Goal from Diego Polenta. (Photo: ovaciondigital.com.uy)

If you enjoy spectacle, now was your time to tune into this game. Only three minutes into the second half, Mathías Aguirregaray thought it was a good idea to lift his leg high up against Tabó. He hit the winger and Nacional was awarded a correct penalty. As López missed today's game, it was the captain himself who stepped up for the penalty. Diego Polenta left no doubts and fired it into the bottom left corner for a 1-0 lead for Nacional.

Yet again, it took the home team about 15 minutes to find their game - at least for a short while, as we found out later. Forlán's shot sailed over the bar and coach Jorge Da Silva brought on Hernán Novick for the toothless Murillo. Hernán thanked him right away by kicking a lovely corner into the penalty area, finding the head of Aguirregaray. The defender then found the back of the net and it was all tied up again (62').

The situation lasted for only three minutes, before Nacional got their second penalty of the evening. Aguiar caught Barcia's foot on the edge of the penalty area (yes, inside) and yet again the referee pointed to the spot. Big game players are made for this and Polenta showed again why he is just one of those by converting his second penalty, cooly into the same corner. 2-1 Nacional!

Following their second goal, it was all Nacional going forward. Peñarol hit a wall whenever they attempted to attack their opponents. Big chances from Romero and Sebastián Fernández multiple times were the consequence. The striker will regret his finish in the 77th minute the most of all. A 3 on 1 counter led to Seba standing all alone in front of Guruceaga, but instead of firing it into the net, he put it wide.

Peñarol were even further weakened shortly after when Fernández had broken through on a counter attack yet again. Guillermo Rodríguez brought him down as the last man and saw the red card. Nothing spoke for yellow & black to come back and somehow they still did it. In the last minutes of a four minute long injury time, they created their first chances since Nacional's second goal. Esteban Conde had the better end of Aguiar's freekick, but when the midfielder crossed for Marcel Novick, the goalkeeper was powerless himself. Novick's header flew against the inside of the post and into the net for a much celebrated equalizer by one half of the stadium.

Analysis

Creator of Peñarol's lucky point: Marcel Novick. (Photo: ovaciondigital.com.uy)

An extremely lucky point for Peñarol considering their disadvantage with 10 men and their inability to create any chances throughout the last 30 minutes. Still, they believed in themselves at the end and came away with yet another lucky Clásico draw as they did the last time out in the Apertura.

Impressive today: Double goalscorer Diego Polenta led his team throughout the 90 minutes and fully convinced. On the other side, it was the Novick's that proved decisive in Peñarol's comeback.

With three games left in the season, Peñarol stay on top for now, awaiting Plaza Colonia's match against Sud América. With a win, the outsiders can leapfrog both of the big teams. However, Nacional will have to hope for both of them to drop points eventually to have a chance of winning the Clausura title.

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Peñarol take on Nacional in Clásico Uruguayo

A ground-breaking game for both teams is what it is all about in this season's Clásico Uruguayo. Yesterday, the visitors celebrated their 117th birthday

Key man on Sunday: Seba Fernández has never lost a Clásico. (Photo: tenfield.com.uy)

When Peñarol play against Nacional, a ton of pride and bragging rights will always be on the line, seperating the country in two halves. This time around, the game is being played in week 12 of the Clausura and has significant influence on the title. Both teams are currently seperated by just two points, so it is a winner takes the league lead situation (Plaza Colonia can interfere with that plan). 

In recent weeks, the two clubs have both done their homework quite well in the league (see infographic below), Peñarol is on a four-game winning streak, while Nacional has not lost in five. One series has to end on Sunday afternoon at the Estadio Centenario (8:30pm CET).

https://sporticos.com/en/2016-05-15/194777-match-ca-penarol-vs-club-nacional-de-football

Going into the game, Nacional has the well-known and probably best trouble surrounding them: Success. Their road to the Copa Libertadores quarterfinals means that the Clásico is scheduled inbetween big international games for the first time in quite a while. Injuries come along with it, as top striker Nico López will miss the rivals clash. Not only because of López' absence, Sebastián Fernández will play a key role in Nacional's attempt to get all three points. So far, the former Uruguayan international has not lost a single Clásico he played in. 

Coach Gustavo Munúa cannot afford to rotate in the biggest game of the season, since all hell would break loose from the supporters should they lose this one with a B squad. Whoever is able to play (Romero and Ramírez were doubtful too after taking several knocks on Thursday) will be in the starting XI. Leo Gamalho and Christian Tabó were named prime options to replace López and Ramírez.

Peñarol on the other hand do not have any international distractions anymore and can concentrate fully on the league. While they would probably prefer something else, it does help them, shown by their recent success. Admittedly, their playing style did not convince and the opponents were not exactly the elite in Uruguay either. Their real challenge comes on Sunday. Diego Forlán will most likely start for the yellow and black, after being demoted to the bench for the first half in the win over Villa Teresa. When he came on, things started to go Peñarol's way. 

Despite the completely different preparations towards this game, it would surprise anyone if we did not get a close affair on Sunday as well. Betting companies such as bwin see Peñarol as favourite nevertheless, with odds of 1.83. A Nacional win would multiply your stake by 4.

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Uruguay week 10 preview

Week 10 in Uruguay is right around the corner. Thanks to Labor Day, a national holiday in Uruguay on May 1, the football weekend starts on Thursday and is over on Saturday evening. Here is your preview for all the games.

Racing host Villa Teresa in the Parque Roberto. (Photo: racingclub.com.uy)

Racing Club and Villa Teresa are kicking things off on Thursday afternoon local time. Over in central Europe, the game will kickoff at 8:30pm CET. Racing are in a simply bad run of form as their last and only wins came in week 1 and 2 of the season. But Villa Teresa themselves are waiting for a win since three games now. If Racing can keep their goalscoring going and their defense manages to hold up instead of breaking down like against Liverpool the past weekend, a lot speaks for a home win and the club finally getting back on winning track. 

Friday is started off (8:30pm CET) with a battle between two more lower end teams: Danubio and Rentistas. Danubio, winless since Clausura week 1, seek to reach success, but their situation looks a little more grim than Racing's. They fail to score enough goals (5 straight with 1 or fewer), while not keeping the ball out of their own net on the other side. Rentistas meanwhile look to bounce back from an unlucky loss against Peñarol. 

The scene for El Tanque Sisley vs Juventud. (Photo: panoramio.com)

At midnight (CET), El Tanque Sisley look to win their third game of the season against Juventud. Losing four straight in recent weeks, they have certainly not looked good lately. Juventud just have two more points, but at least their goalscoring has been okay. If they can keep it up they should have a chance to beat El Tanque in the Estadio Campenoes Olímpicos.

Peñarol and their new stadium face their next challenge in in-form Liverpool. Following a come-from behind victory against Rentistas, they will need to be extra careful again though. Liverpool striker Junior Arias has scored seven goals in his past four games for his team. Peñarol are trusting their collective so far, with their best goalscorer having 3 goals (3-way tie between Forlán, Rodríguez and Murillo). Then again, with a week of rest and considering it is a home game for Pablo Bengoechea's side, you have to call yellow & black the favourite. This game will kick off at 2:30am CET.

The final four games will be play on Saturday. At 10:30am local time (!, 3:30pm CET), River Plate and CA Cerro will be trying to build on their most recent successes. Surprisingly weak at home, River so far only managed two points from four games. On the other hand, Cerro has an even away record and are in the midst of the title fight, just three points off the pace set by Plaza Colonia. It will be interesting to see if Cerro can sneak out another tight victory against somewhat strong competition.

When talking of home teams, Fénix is the number 1. They will be at home again against Montevideo Wanderers at 6pm CET. The loss at Nacional's GPC has set Fénix back a little in the fight to stay amongst the top sides. If there is any trouble they recently had, it's their goalscoring. It is now four straight games without more than one goal. On the other hand, Wanderers scored three in three straight games, but come into this weekend on the backend of a 0-0 draw with Defensor Sporting. Whoever gets their goalscoring back under way will come out on top of this one.

The aforementioned Defensor Sporting are hosting league leaders Plaza Colonia this weekend (8:30pm CET). Just when you thought they would slow down finally, Plaza picked it back up and remain on top of things. At this point you have to wonder whether Eduardo Espinel's team is strong enough to actually win the Clausura with six games left. Whichever way you look at it, Defensor have just won one home game all season and will be outsiders against the successful side from out West. Plaza Colonia are the best away team in the league and have not lost once on opposition ground.

Week 10 is closed by the only remaining Copa Libertadores participant Nacional. Gustavo Munúa's XI is going to play Sud América at the Centenario (midnight to Sunday CET). Resting players for the second leg would theoretically be a good idea, but went awfully wrong before on a previous attempt. Sud América have won their last league game 1-0 over Villa Teresa, but Nacional did not lose since week 6 either. The only two league losses the favourite suffered happened away from home though. Can Sud América, the fifth best home team, threaten enough?

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Liverpool find dramatic winner, Peñarol comeback

Uruguay's round 9 of the Clausura had a lot to offer throughout the past weekend. From outsider wins to favourite comebacks, here is the summary of all the games.

Once again Liverpool's hero: Junior Arias. (Photo: AUF)

Junior Arias was Liverpool's hero in a 0-3 away win against Sud América a week ago. On Saturday, the striker worked his magic again, scored twice and gave Liverpool a dramatic 3-2 win over Racing Club. Up until the 83rd minute, visiting Racing looked like it would surely take some points home with them, having a 1-2 lead after goals from Ignacio Ithurralde (4') and Juan Pablo Rodríguez (75'). Liverpool had tied the game quickly inbetween, through Arias' first goal of the day (14'). 

Once more it showed that Liverpool are masters of the late goal. Five of their eleven goals this season were scored between minute 75 and 90. Two of them on Saturday. First, substitute Jhonatan Candia's penalty equalized the game (83'). Finally, after 97 minutes, Junior Arias was there to give the home team the dramatic win with his 8th goal of the season. A long ball forward was headed down by Candia, right towards Arias. The striker let it drop onto the pitch once, stopped it with his chest and fired it into the top left corner with his right foot. A very late goal of the day candidate. 

Liverpool have now won 3 of their last 4 games, collecting 10 points in the process, after starting the season with 5 straight losses. Slowly but surely, they are moving up the ranks and find themselves in 11th now. Racing is 12th and experience a clear downward trend with 1 point from the last 5 outings.

Sub for a comeback: Rossi replaces Forlán. (Photo: AUF)

As I predicted in my matchday preview, Peñarol got in trouble in their first game since midweek's Copa Libertadores action. Rentistas held a 1-0 lead until the 72nd minute, then the visitors in yellow and black turned it on and got away with a 1-3 win.

Yoel Burgueño gave the outsiders the lead after 38 minutes with a long shot from distance that ended up fooling everybody, goalkeeper Gastón Guruceaga included. Peñarol was down at halftime and threatened to lose sight of top spot in the league. At the end of the day, it was two second half substitutes that turned their fortunes around late. Diego Rossi had entered the pitch for Diego Forlán, Maxi Rodríguez came on for Nicolás Albarracin. Those two ended up scoring three goals in a matter of minutes. 

Rossi produced a nice solo through Rentistas' backline, was not attacked enough and therefore banged home the equalizer (72'). Only two minutes later, Maxi Rodríguez produced his first of two strikes. He surprised Rentistas' goalkeeper Guillermo Reyes with a lob from at least 35 metres that found the back of the net. In the last minute, a low shot from the edge of the area ended things last night and gave Peñarol a late, but deserved win. 

 

The 1-0 win from Nacional over Fénix has its own article, if you missed it. 

Montevideo Wanderers surprised this weekend. Or was it Defensor Sporting that did after all? Either way, the league's top striker Gastón Rodríguez played for 90 minutes but was held to zero goals by visiting Defensor. With a 0-0 draw, Wanderers missed the chance to reach closer contact with Uruguay's top sides. Defensor still did not manage to win for the fourth time in a row, but show themselves improved defensively after giving up a lot of goals in previous weeks. 

Plaza Colonia win again. (Photo: AUF)

League leaders Plaza Colonia stay league leaders following a 2-1 win over struggling El Tanque Sisley. An undisciplined away team could not hold on to its 0-1 lead after a penalty strike from Yuri Galli (28'). Instead, El Tanque collected two red cards, one straight red for Claudio Dadomo shortly after the second half had started, one for two yellows for defender Sergio Felipe (83'). Plaza Colonia meanwhile showed their comeback qualities, even if it was against a tumbling opponent. Germán Rivero equalized inside the first half still (39'), heading in a high cross from the left. After 63 minutes, Plaza had gotten their second goal through Nicolás Milesi's looping header (63'). Against 10, later 9, opponents, the side from Colonia del Sacramento had no trouble to bring their advantage across the finish line.

River Plate finally convinced again in the Primera División, beating Danubio 0-3. Ángel Rodríguez produced an absolute stunner into the top corner to give River a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes. As time went on, the visitors continued to be the better team against their last place opponent, who then weakened itself with a red card. After 57 minutes, Cristian González was sent off by the referee. Montevideo's River now had it even easier and added two more goals, both via penalty, both from Michael Santos (64' & 90'+2).

A late penalty remained the only goal in the game between Villa Teresa and Sud América. Previously, both teams had rocked the same 3-2-3 record, now the fourth win belongs to Sud América. Maximiliano Arias scored the decisive penalty in the third minute of added time. The win was even more admirable for the visitors, as they were without Julián Perujo ten minutes into the second half after he had picked up his second yellow card of the day. Sud América climb up to 6th in the table, while Villa Teresa remains 11th. 

Finally, a surprise between CA Juventud and CA Cerro: Cerro can do more than just defend. Against somewhat-in-form Juventud, they came away with a 1-3 win on their ground. Maureen Franco got things started when he scrambled the ball across the goal line (15'). Juan Boselli managed to tie it up after 37 minutes in a bid to keep Juventud's unbeaten run going. Cerro had other plans in the second half. A freekick variation fooled everyone at the back and presented Hugo Silveira with an open net that he would not miss (51'). Andrés Ravecca added the insurance marker after 76 minutes with a flying header. Cerro, after some weaker performances, are back on winning ways and find themselves just three points behind Plaza Colonia.

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Back to normality in Uruguay?

Following the tragic natural catastrophes in many South American countries, football rightly had to take a backseat for a while. Many people are still trying to help rebuilding the damage done to homes and whole areas. Nevertheless, Germancopa is a football blog and Uruguay's Primera División is supposed to return on the upcoming weekend. As the title race reaches its later stages, here is a preview of everything you need to know before Saturday.

If the games should indeed go ahead, league leaders Plaza Colonia will try to defend top spot against struggling El Tanque Sisley at home. El Tanque could celebrate just two wins out of the first eight matches and find themselves, unsurprisingly, third from last. They have not managed to win a game since March 5 against Liverpool. Watch out though: despite their excellent position, Plaza was held winless in the last two games as well. The first loss of their season against Juventud was followed up by a goalless draw against CA Cerro. Either way, Eduardo Espinel's Plaza Colonia will be favourites once again going into the weekend.

Tough lineup decisions for Gustavo Munúa and Nacional. (Photo: nacional.uy)

Most exciting game of the weekend should be the clash between second a third: Nacional are visited by CA Fénix. Slowly but surely, the illness wave hitting Nacional has died down going into the decisive stage of the season in league and Copa Libertadores. They find themselves 1 point behind Plaza Colonia at the top and could open up a gap towards their weekend's opponents. Considering it is a home game and all players had a lot of rest instead of playing midweek, they should be the favourites once again. In the last two league games, Nacional banged home a whopping seven goals. Fénix on the other hand are the more defensively solid type of team and are the only ones that have not lost a single time yet. 4 wins and 4 draws have given them 16 points thus far.

New edition of Rentistas vs Peñarol at the Centenario. (Photo: penarol.org)

Peñarol in the meantime will travel to Rentistas and will have to be extremely careful. Not only do they have two tough Copa Libertadores outings behind them, the last of them in midweek, but also meet an in-form team in the league. Rentistas have won their last two games against Sud América and Racing Club and drew against Fénix before. One of their main danger men is former Peñarol midfielder Matías Mier, who scored three goals so far this Clausura. The visitors themselves then arrive with a massive mental boost after their big comeback victory in the Copa Libertadores, but will feel that game in their muscles still. They have not been great in the league recently and it could well end up in an upset, if Peñarol are not careful.

In the latest edition of "Who will Gastón Rodriguez sink this weekend?", the right answer would be Defensor Sporting. It is a home game for Montevideo Wanderers and their 10-goal striker, who has been absolutely fantastic throughout 2016. Is there any reason he will stop against the 15th placed team? Just two wins all season for Defensor have the club's fans extremely disappointed. The latest record does not look too bright either: in the past three outings, they only collected one point. Wanderers on the other hand come into the game with two wins in their backs (Cerro & El Tanque). It is hard to see anyone else than Uruguay's best offense come out on top of this one.

CA Cerro, with their total of six goals, are still in the fight for the title. In fifth position, they find themselves three points behind Plaza Colonia. Going into the away game against Juventud, their 1-0 winning form has taken a little dip. A loss to Wanderers was followed by a draw against Plaza. Juventud on the other side has not lost since late February and will look to keep that run going.

A battle between Danubio and River Plate has two disappointing teams of 2016 matched against each other. Iconic Danubio, one of Uruguay's most famous sides aside from the big two, find themselves in deadlast. The reason for that is easy to find: 15 goals against means the second worst defensive record in the entire league. If they can get it together against anyone, it should be Sunday's opponent, which severely struggled to get goals.

Liverpool vs Racing Club on Saturday is another mid- to bottom-table clash. The pre-game situation looks completely different though. While Liverpool is unbeaten in three and has gotten 7 points from those games, Racing has only collected one point from their last four matches. They need a turnaround in fortunes and they need it fast. Liverpool's Junior Arias comes into the game on a hattrick.

Finally, the last game being played takes place between Villa Teresa and Sud América. Villa Teresa have surprised so far in the Clausura with an even 3-2-3 record. Their last three games tell the same story: 1-1-1. The visitors were fighting at the top of the league for a while, but losses to Rentistas and Liverpool in recent weeks have set their record straight again, returning Sud América to mid-table (with the same 3-2-3 record, by the way). Good luck predicting a winner from this one.

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Peñarol go out with a bang, Huracán advance

Group 4 had its final games take place in the Copa Libertadores last night. While most decisions had been made already, the fans got to see some attractive games across the continent.

Luís Aguiar. (Photo: turojadirecta.com)

Peñarol had not managed to win a single game yet going into last night's meeting with Sporting Cristal. For 45 minutes, it did not seem like they would today either. Down 1-3 going into the break, the Uruguayans had a massive task ahead of them. They ended up mastering it beautifully. 

Alberto Rodríguez, Cristal's centre-back, gave the visitors an 18th minute lead through a header from Carlos Lobatón's corner. As if that was not enough goalscoring for a defender, he added another one just six minutes later. After another corner, this time from the left, confusion broke out in Peñarol's area. The ball was not cleared and Rodríguez was there to pick up the pieces and smash it home.

It took the hosts a little while to get the game back under control. Once they did, they made it count right away. Luís Aguiar's shot (30') was fantastic and left Diego Penny in Cristal's goal no chance to make a save. In their brandnew stadium, they were back in the game, at least for seven minutes. That was how long it took the Peruvians to add a third goal. Gabriel Costa's through ball found the run of Irven Ávila and the striker left no doubts by scoring his seventh career goal in the Copa Libertadores. Down 1-3 at home and staring into the face of a complete disaster, Peñarol's coach Pablo Bengoechea ended up making three game-changing substitutions throughout the second half.

Cristian Palacios, Nicolás Albarracín and Hernán Novick entered the pitch up until the 69th minute. By now, Uruguay's Apertura winner had come up with increasing pressure onto Penny's goal and finally made it count in quick succession. Who else but Hernán Novick would score two goals right after coming on. Firstly, goalkeeper Penny could not handle a Palacios shot, deflecting it right in front of Novick's feet and the midfielder only had to slot it home (72'). Tied game after 81 minutes: Palacios' run created a lot of space for Novick in the middle again and he used his colleague's assist with a great finish to the far post. 

At the end of the night, Peñarol even took all three points away from Sporting Cristal who so desperately needed them to try and advance to the round of 16. A long ball to the right side found the run of Novick and he crossed it right into the danger zone. Palacios got to the ball and was beaten by a great reaction from Penny, but there was only so much the goalkeeper could do. Third super-sub Albarracín was first to get on the rebound and finished the game off by scoring the fourth and last goal to give his team a spectacular 4-3 victory. 

Peñarol won their final Libertadores game for some time deservedly. While they were out before, this win puts them ahead of Sporting Cristal, with 5 points. The Peruvians, with 4, join their Uruguayan opponents on the tv screen ahead of the round of 16.

Lots of battles, but no goals between Atlético Nacional and Huracán. (Photo: Conmebol)

As lucky as Atlético Nacional were to win all three points the last time around against Sporting Cristal, last night was an unlucky one for the comfortable group winners. Against Huracán, the Colombians dominated from start to finish, not allowing a single shot on goal against. Still, it was only enough for a 0-0 draw on the night.

Especially towards the end of the game, the hosts created a lot of pressure on their Argentine visitors. The chances were there for Atlético Nacional: Farid Díaz' shot from distance that hit the crossbar, Víctor Ibarbo's header wide, another Díaz attempt that sneaked past the far post. After a long cross, El Globo defender Federico Mancinelli even came close to scoring an own goal, but Marcos Díaz saved his side from further problems with a great reaction. 

It was just not meant to be for the Colombians today, who finished the group with 16 from a possible 18 points. In particular left-back Farid Díaz had an outstanding game and was present in nearly every highlight of the night. Atlético Nacional are ready for whoever they might face in the round of 16. Huracán needed a point to go through and they got it as well. The Argentines will need a lot of improvements though before thinking about beating a group winner which they will face.

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Peñarol crash out while Atlético Nacional stays invincible

The group stages of this year's Copa Libertadores are reaching their decisive time. Last night, four games were being played.

Uruguay's Apertura winner Peñarol travelled to Argentina to take on Huracán in a must-win game. Having only collected one point previous to last night, Diego Forlán & Co. had it all to do against the in-form team. Sadly, for them, it was over before it really started.

Marcel Novick fights for the ball with Huracán's Matías Fritzler. (Photo: Conmebol)

The opening stages were not too eventful, both teams had a chance they could not convert. Instead, midfielder Nahitan Nández got himself sent off after just 23 minutes. His challenge was a clear and stupid attack on Mauro Bogado's health, leaving his Peñarol teammates down to 10 men early. The visitors had to react early and take off one of their goalscorers from the past weekend, Nicolás Albarracín, to fill the gaping hole in central midfield. 

While the game continued to be pretty even throughout most of the first half, Peñarol stood no chance in the second and was very lucky to get away with a 0-0 draw last night. Heavy pressure from El Globo ended in big chances for Ezequiel Miralles, Hugo Nervo or José San Román, to name a few. Especially the left side with Miralles and Romero was Huracán's focal point of attack, pushing their visitors back around their own penalty area. Goalkeeper Gastón Guruceaga made tremendous saves on multiple occasions and kept the clean sheet at the end.

Both teams actually got the ball into the back of the net late, Huracán from an offside position, while Guruceaga wanted to become the matchwinner for the Uruguayans on the other end. His header went in, but clearly after an offensive foul on his goalkeeping colleague Marcos Díaz.

For Peñarol, one point is not enough. Bad performances throughout the group stage have eliminated the club from the competition. When recalling their first won point against Sporting Cristal, it was a very lucky one as well, so elimination is far from undeserved. Diego Forlán will have to attack his dream again next season. Huracán meanwhile are close to advancing to the round of 16, barring a loss of their five goal advantage to Sporting Cristal during the last round.

Víctor Ibarbo. (Photo: Conmebol)

That very same Sporting Cristal faced already advanced Atlético Nacional last night. The Colombians stayed invincible with a 0-1 away win, but were the worse team for the first time during these group stages.

Peru's vice champion played forward right from the get-go and still it was the favourite who took the lead 13 minutes in. Defender Alberto Rodríguez saw no other option to stop Víctor Ibarbo than to foul him from behind. The Colombian had previously produced an outstanding run through the whole Peruvian half. Ibarbo himself stepped up and converted the spotkick comfortably.

It took Cristal a while to get over conceding the first goal of the game. Towards the end of the first half, they regained control of their home game. Santiago Silva had the biggest chance for the hosts as he suddenly found himself in possession right in front of the goal following a weak punch by Franco Armani. The goalkeeper made up for it by closing the striker down quickly and making the second effort save. After yet another deflection fell onto the foot of Silva, he shot it wide.

The second half was literally all Sporting Cristal, but despite dominating in possession (55%), shots (13-7) or corners (13-0), Peru's survivor could simply not find an equalizer. They tried to speed up the game by executing set pieces quickly, but lacked final precision in their attacks, especially when time ran out on them. Still, Carlos Lobatón did well and created one good scene after the other.

It ended with just the one goal being scored and it leads to Atlético Nacional collecting 15 out of 15 possible points. They will most likely be the #1 seed for the round of 16. As previously mentioned, Sporting Cristal needs to make up a 5 goal disadvantage over Huracán in their final game to advance.

Elsewhere in the Copa Libertadores

San Lorenzo find themselves on the verge of elimination after yet another attempted fail to win in this season's competition. Despite holding a lead until the 82nd minute, the Argentines lost 2-1 away to Deportivo Toluca. Nicolás Blandi had given the visitors the lead right before halftime, but Colombian striker Fernando Uribe turned out to be the Mexican supporters' hero. He scored twice (82', 88') to turn a seemingly lost game into a win. Toluca are assured group victory, San Lorenzo are out with a Grêmio win tonight over last place LDU Quito.

Trujillanos made affairs in Group 1 exciting again by winning their home game against The Strongest 2-1. A penalty in the fourth minute of added time proved decisive on the night. It was Maurice Cova who decided the game late, after Carlos Sosa (32') and an own goal from Hector Perez (67') had previously produced a tied game. The Bolivian visitors with the tiger in their logo could have come close to advancing, but are held to 7 points, one behind River Plate. They are followed by São Paulo FC (5) and Trujillanos (4). Despite their win, Venezuela's subcampeón is eliminated from the competition already.

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Hattrick hero Arias, Rodriguez scores again - Uruguay Roundup

Last week, Uruguay's Primera División experienced complete disaster for all but one of this season's top teams. Let us take a look at how they did one weekend later. 

In short form: They did a lot better. None of the top five lost their game during round 8. While you might have read about the spectacular game between Defensor Sporting and Nacional which had 6 goals and 4 penalties on display, the other games were a little more calm.

Fénix' Lucas Cavallini. (Photo: Tenfield)

Fénix opened the weekend up by playing visiting Villa Teresa. Right away, it only took the promoted club under two minutes to get their first huge chance, but they could not convert a penalty. Instead, it was Lucas Cavallini firing Fénix into the lead with a well taken goal (16'). The Canadian scored his third goal of the Clausura. Meanwhile, his team moves up to third place in the league table.

Away from home, Rentistas beat Racing Club 3-0 and imposed their aerial dominance in the process. Deivis Barone struck twice inside 5 minutes (14',18'). The Uruguayan centre-back was an unlikely hero for his team that added a third and final goal just two minutes later. Yoel Burgueño (20') scored his first of the season as well and shoots Rentistas into 7th in the table. They are unbeaten in three. 

Liverpool's Junior Arias. (Photo: Tenfield)

Liverpool have the famous name, but now they also finally have left the bottom of the table. A 3-0 win over Sud América is good enough for 13th. Man of the match with a hattrick: Junior Arias. He scored twice in the first half, via penalty (30') and from a lovely counter (32'), before adding the finishing touch to his performance with yet another penalty conversion after 84 minutes. Arias himself went up to 6 goals in 2016.

El Tanque Sisley lost their third straight, this time around to Montevideo Wanderers. After Rodrigo de Olivera struck twice (20',49'), El Tanque found a pretty quick answer to get back into this game. Mathías Acuña scored an absolutely fantastic goal (52'). After receiving the ball right onto his chest, the small midfielder spun around, lobbing it over two defenders and finished it volley into the top right corner. It was a goal that deserved more than zero points, but you cannot count out Wanderers at the moment, because they simply have THE MAN. Gastón Rodriguez scored his 10th goal of the season (77'), helped by reserve goalkeeper Ruben Silva who had vacated his line but could not get to the long ball first. 1-3 was the final score.

CA Cerro, on their strange piece of wannabe pitch, held league leaders Plaza Colonia to a goalless draw. Both teams will take the result, as it solidifies their positions, but Plaza came closest to winning the match. For the last quarter of an hour, they had a one-man advantage after Osvaldo Centurión was sent off for his second yellow card. As you realised by now, they could not use it.

River Plate are eliminated from the Copa Libertadores, but only managed a draw yet again in the league. Against fellow midfield rival Juventud, River was held to a 0-0. The game in the Saroldi stadium was rather tough on the eyes, so let us quickly move on.

Peñarol's Cristian Palacios. (Photo: Tenfield)

For the first time, Peñarol played a league game in their brandnew stadium. They just sneaked out a bit of a lucky 2-1 victory on the night against bottom club Danubio. Nicolás Albarracín opened the scoring in the 20th minute after a lot of confusion inside Danubio's area. It was doubled nine minutes later when a long ball eliminated the whole visiting team and the hesitating goalkeeper Facundo Silva. Cristian Palacios ended up putting the ball in the back of the net. When Danubio's José Rodríguez was sent off for his second yellow card (67'), it seemed like game over, but not so fast. Miguel Murillo commited a foul inside the area and gave away a penalty while getting himself sent off as well. Captain Carlos Grossmüller took the opportunity by the horns and cut into the lead (79'). While the visitors could have equalized in the end, it was a typical bottom feeder loss. Peñarol disappoint from a footballing standpoint once more, but still collect all three points.

Here are all the goals in video form, as well as the league table after round 8.

Standings provided by Sofascore LiveScore

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Peñarol lose, Plaza Colonia stay top - Uruguay roundup

Plaza Colonia's loss was a big chance for many teams to catch up. Noone used it. Here is the Uruguay roundup.

Juventud's Leyes and Barcelo (Photo: tenfield.com)

Matchweek 7 in Uruguay's Primera División was one of many surprises as most teams among the top of the table could not win their games. It all started with surprise leaders Plaza Colonia on Saturday. The small team suffered their first loss of the Clausura, 1-2 at home against Juventud. Gabriel Leyes gave Juventud an eighth minute lead, which was equalized by Germán Rivero (28'). The Argentine striker scores his fourth goal of the season already, nearly half of Plaza's total (10). In the second half, it was Facundo Barcelo via penalty (68') who decided the game in the visitors favour. Barcelo scored his fourth of the season himself. 

Yet Plaza Colonia stay on top of the table, a lot of it thanks to Peñarol's inability to beat struggling River Plate last night. Michael Santos, also known as River's life insurance, scored towards the end of the first half to give the Copa Libertadores participant (meeting Nacional this week) the lead (42'). César Taján added a second goal in injury time of the second half. The final result was a 0-2 that leaves Peñarol very disappointed as they not only missed the chance to go top, but also got overtaken by archrivals Nacional. 

Read all about Nacional's 3-1 win over El Tanque Sisley in this seperate post.

Wanderers' Gastón Rodriguez. (Photo: futbol.com.uy)

CA Cerro joined Peñarol in the losing column the past weekend. The minimalists that had a goal difference of 5-2 going into week 7 lost 1-3 away to Montevideo Wanderers. One player continues to impress in the Clausura: Gastón Rodriguez. The striker lifted his goal total up to an outstanding 9 goals in 7 games by scoring twice again (26', 43'). Cerro has some life again for a short time in the second half, when Lucas Hernández cut the lead in half (64'), but happiness only lasted for one minute. Wanderers midfielder Matiás Santos gave the hosts their two-goal lead instantly. Despite their amazingly successful striker, Montevideo Wanderers only celebrated their second win of the season. While they have the best offense in Uruguay, they also sport the third worst defense on the other hand. 

Surprises continued with CA Fénix. Away to deadlast Liverpool, the visitors only managed a 1-1 draw. After a goalless first half, it turned out to be outsiders Liverpool taking the lead. Gustavo Aprile (58') scored his first of the season. All Fénix could do was tie the game through a Maximiliano Pérez penalty later on (70'). 

Sud América could have jumped into second place this weekend anf just like all the others failed to do so as well. Against Rentistas, they saw the game get away from them 1-0. The goal was scored after 17 minutes by midfielder Matías Mier. The Uruguayan scored for the third time this season and gave Rentistas their second win of 2016.

In the meantime, the league's most notable outsiders Villa Teresa have been climbing up the table slowly but surely during the past weeks. Once again, they celebrated a late point against Defensor Sporting this weekend, drawing 2-2. Adrián Balboa gave the hosts the lead (36') that was quickly tied by Defensor's Matiás Zunino (41'). While Vicente Sánchez (68') thought he had won his team the game for a long time, Villa Teresa would not give up until the end and was rewarded for it. Cristian Arguiñarena equalized two minutes into stoppage time. 

Finally, Danubio had only won once so far this season and could not add a second one to their resume against Racing Club. Luis González' home team was given the lead by Gonzalo Barreto in the 48th minute. The advantage held until the 76th minute, when Leandro Ezquerra produced Racing's equalizer. 

Standings provided by Sofascore LiveScore

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Time to take Atlético Nacional seriously

Colombia's champion Atlético Nacional continues to impress in the Copa Libertadores. Last night, they won 0-4 away at Peñarol. 

12 points from 4 games, it does not get much better than what Atlético Nacional have played so far. Yesterday, they convinced with brutal efficiency in the Estadio Centenario. From five shots on target, they converted four. It is more than time to take this team seriously when it comes to the competition's winner. 

Happiness: Atlético Nacional celebrate their fourth win in as many games. (Photo: AFP)

Jonathan Copete (8') and Daniel Bocanegra (45'+1) opened the scoring in the first half for an away team that was not even dominating the game, but simply was more precise and efficient than their opponents who were still missing Diego Forlán. Copete struck after a wonderful deep pass from Pérez, while Bocanegra scored with a direct freekick into the top right corner. 

Realistically, the game was decided at that point. Peñarol came out strong in the second half, but failed to make it count on several occasions. Notably the one shot on target throughout 90 minutes will be a thorn in their eyes. Neither striker Palacios, nor his partner Murillo could threaten Franco Armani's goal and were subbed off accordingly. 

The Uruguayans simply miss a lot of creativity, especially with Forlán out, a situation that is also apparent in their own Primera División. While it is somewhat manageable to look good against Rentistas and Villa Teresa, it will not be in the Copa Libertadores. 

Instead, Atlético Nacional made them pay twice more. Orlando Berrío scored with a goal that was basically a replay of the 1-0 (82'). A long ball was not dealt with by the backline and gave Alexander Mejia the assist. Three minutes later, Luis Carlos Ruiz added the fourth. He was played through the middle again by Mejia and finished without any problems. 

With this big win, the Colombians have pretty much guaranteed themselves winning the group (not mathematically yet), have 12 points. Next up are Sporting Cristal and Huracán with 4 and 3 respectively (but also a game less). In deadlast, Peñarol have one point and are on the verge of elimination.

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Atlético Nacional impressive, Cristal get first win

Week 4 of the 2016 Copa Libertadores group stages started last night with three matches. In particular Group 4 was of higher interest. Here is how the games went.

Diego Forlán slowly sees his dream of winning a Copa Libertadores title fade away, while Atlético Nacional can plan for the round of 16. The Colombians were victorious at home last night, beating Peñarol 2-0. 

Throughout the 90 minutes, Atlético Nacional was the significantly better team and rightfully earned all three points for the third time in as many games this year. While the first half remained goalless for some odd reason, Colombia's champion made sure to strike twice in the second. Right fullback Daniel Bocanegra in the 55th minute fired a shot from at least 30m into the bottom left corner, with the polite assistance from Uruguayan goalkeeper Gastón Guruceaga. 

Even though Nacional took the lead through a mistake, it was absolutely overdue on the night. They added a beautifully crafted second goal six minutes later. A short cutback from Victor Ibarbo was slotted into the net by Marlos Moreno, who had a fine game like so many of his colleagues. 

Instead of producing chances on the other end, Peñarol ended up weakening themselves further thanks to an inexplicable red card for Hernán Novick in the 86th minute, one (!) minute after he was brought onto the pitch by coach Pablo Bengoechea. Chopping down an opposing player from behind in front of the referee is never a smart idea, Mr. Novick.

Peñarol have a single point after 3 matches, Atlético Nacional lead the group with 9.

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Between those two: Sporting Cristal and Huracán. Their meeting in Peru saw some more goals and ended in a 3-2 win for the Peruvian home team, who celebrate their first Libertadores win of the season. 

Overall, we saw a relatively even first half in which both clubs had the chance to take the lead. Cristal nearly scored from a direct corner, Huracán had a shot from distance hit the post. At the end, it was Gabriel Costa opening the scoring for the home team after 26 minutes. The Uruguayan was given way too much space inside the penalty area, so it was no big issue to fire home Horacio Calcaterra's cross from the right. 

Santiago Silva added to the lead nine minutes later, showing off his strength against three defenders. He was first to the ball and produced a magnificent finish from Carlos Lobatón's lobbed pass. 2-0 was how it went to the break, where the Argentine Copa Sudamericana finalist finally brought on their best player and difference maker Ramón Abila. 

Before he could have an impact, Sporting Cristal had struck again via penalty from striker Santiago Silva again (56'). Huracán's Luca Sosa had gotten himself sent off and seemingly robbed the visitors any sort of chance for a comeback. Just do not tell that Abila. The big striker cut into the Peruvian's lead only a minute later, pouncing onto a loose ball in the area the quickest. Ramón Abila added his second goal with a tremendous lob finish in the 77th minute, beautifully sent through by Cristian Espinoza. 

Sadly, for the visiting team from Argentina, that was all and when the fulltime whistle blew, you could hear a large sigh of relief from the home crowd. Sporting Cristal are in second with 4 points now, followed by Huracán with 3.

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Over in Ecuador, the fans saw an entertaining opening part and finale to the match between Emelec and Olimpia. The Paraguayans, who have struggled massively to start off 2016, fell down early on from Fernando Giménez' 4th minute header. Fernando Gaibor had found his teammate with a decent cross from the right side.

Unlike on previous occasions, Olimpia actually found a way back and did so convincingly by taking control of the first half. First, Miguel Paniagua placed a header of his own into the top corner (12'), before 18-year old talent Blas Riveros turned the game on its head by giving Olimpia the lead (20'). While his finish was good, he had the goal handed to him on a silver platter as defender Jorge Guagua played a horrible misplaced pass inside his own penalty area. 

It took the Ecuadorians until the last half hour to gain control in their home game and produce a higher amount of chances. At the end of the night, it was still heartbreak for the fighting Paraguayan side, who could have really used a win for confidence reasons alone. 

Fernando Giménez was there again in added time to score Emelec's equalizer with an absolute bomb from distance. Much like in Peñarol's game, the shot could and should have been saved by goalkeeper Víctor Centurión. He did not, which is why Emelec remain on track to the round of 16, with now 4 points. Olimpia at least got their first point.

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