New defeat, now against the Patriots, who came out of line

The night reached Millonarios in Tunja, where he did not find a single one: He had no goals, he played poorly and, in addition, the Patriotas, who were last in the league table, blamed him for a sole defensive error to win their first game of the year 1–0 at the La Independientia stadium. . ,

Dreaming of a win that would send them back to the top of the table, Alberto Gamero’s team is now sinking: it is in tenth place with 11 points and with new concerns regarding the payroll.

Millonarios regained key players from the midfield forward: McAllister Silva, Larry Vasquez and Leonardo Castro returned to the starting lineup. But now, the holes were in the defense.

Andrés Llinas was also linked with a muscle overload in Alvaro Monteiro’s absence due to suspension. And, in the long run, this will impact the development of the game.

Furthermore, Millonarios did not look comfortable in Tunja. The Patriotas’ approach made it complicated, burning the ball and options were few. In the first leg, only one was very clear, the one that goalkeeper Juan David Valencia saved from Leonardo Castro’s shot.

The return of Emerson Rivaldo Rodríguez in place of Jhon Largacha, who had a poor performance, gave some joy to the Millonarios, who had his best minutes at the beginning of the second half and who has now made a name for Valencia. But this added some serious definitional problems, complicating the game.

Patriotas break a streak: 821 minutes without a goal in A’s

The Patriotas, who had not scored a goal since being promoted and who were on a minutes drought before being relegated to B in 2022, broke that streak in the 68th minute. A great assist from Kevin Parra and a header from Gianfranco Pena to put Daniel Giraldo ahead and beat Diego Novoa. It took 821 minutes to sing something again from Booysens in A.

With the entry of Santiago Giordana and Daniel Caetano, Gamero began to lead the team through the middle. The Patriots were down to 10 players due to the irresponsibility of Andres Alarcon, who hit Jorge Arias and had to leave the game with an injury. Referee Alexandre Ospina showed him a straight red card via VAR at the age of 72.

Millonarios lasted 13 minutes with numerical superiority, Until Oscar Venegas was sent off for an unnecessary foul away from his area., And the game, 10 vs 10, was anything and everything, the two teams played whatever came their way and there were no great options to score.

The Patriotas came out of line and the Millonarios now had to run from behind: they missed the target, they were left without and worst of all: a team that hides behind them, a team that confuses them.

jose orlando asencio

Sports Deputy Editor

@josasc

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