Liverpool and Nacional collided this Sunday in what was the first of the finals to define the Uruguayan champion of the 2022 season.
From 4:00 p.m. at the Centenario Stadium, “bolsos” and “negriazules” played a match with different possibilities. National, winner of Closure and Annual, could give themselves the “luxury” of falling, since they have the absolute final guaranteed. For its part, Liverpool had only one option: triumph to force a double final.
Despite having better conditions, Nacional jumped onto the field hungry and from the first minute he looked for the opposite goal. This is how before 30 seconds Fanco Fagúndez already warned with a shot that he went just high.
However, as the minutes passed, Liverpool got more and more comfortable on the field and Nacional had a hard time, except for shots from afar by Camino Cándido and Alfonso Trezza, Repetto’s men found no danger.
As the last minutes of the first half approached, Jorge Bava’s team loosened up in attack and began to generate danger. At 38 minutes Rochet had to intervene to get a powerful shot from Alan Medina that was destined for a goal.
Second half goals
The start of the second half had a similar start to that of the first half, but with a key difference: the goal.
At minute 50 Cándido overflowed from the left and enabled Suárez inside the area. “Lucho” hooked inside to get rid of Federico Pereira’s mark and defined with an open foot to make the score 0-1 at 50′.
However, when it seemed that Nacional controlled the match at will, a blink cost him equality.
About minute 69 the actions would tie. Laborda got overconfident and lost the race to Alan Medina, who got into the area and took out Rochet. “Chino” put his hand down and the attacker fell to the floor, so Ferreyra did not hesitate to sentence the penalty. Thiago Vecino charged in a great way and put the 1-1 on the scoreboard.
After the draw, Liverpool took a breather and looked much better on the pitch. The “black and blue” team displayed their best football on the field, generating concerns in the rival defense. However, towards the end of the second half, Federico Pereira touched a ball with his hands, saw the second yellow card and was sent off. This generated an emotional and physical impact for Liverpool, which could not last beyond the 90′.
Extension “tricolor”
The 30 minutes of extra time were totally National. With one less on the Liverpool court, it was noticeable much less and the “bag” looked much more complete. Also, Repetto’s team would strike early and end the illusions of the Belvedere team.
At minute 96, a center from the right by Zabala met the right foot of Suárez who, first, defined powerfully to break any resistance from Britos and put his team ahead on the scoreboard. This would be the blow from which Liverpool would no longer recover.
As if that were not enough, when the second half of extra time had just begun, Emmanuel Gigliotti defined by hitting it from outside the area to overcome an advanced Britos and make it 1-3 lapidary.
After the third goal, the “bag” was recreated and even “Puma” scored its second goal and the fourth of the game to celebrate the title with a championship.
In this way, Nacional was just crowned champion of Uruguayan Soccer in a year where it was much more regular than its contenders.
