Millonarios arrived in Medellin with a streak of seven games without a win and with just two goals converted in the last five games. However, this Saturday they achieved a victory that allows them to regain the confidence of their fans.
The 1-2 with which the match against Atlético Nacional was resolved, at the Atanasio Girardot stadium, was short for the superiority shown by the team led by Alberto Gamero, who scored two goals and could have gotten at least two others.
(In context: Millonarios regained faith and won a key match against Nacional)
Now, with five points in the table and undefeated in the 2022-II League, Millonarios will return to El Campín on Friday to face Envigado and try to break another bad streak, that of four games without wins at home.
These were the five keys to Millonarios’ victory against Nacional in Medellín.
1. The effectiveness returned to Millionaires
Although not yet ideal for a team that aspires to fight for titles, Millonarios managed to overcome their goalscoring drought and hit Nacional at key moments in the game. First, at 17 minutes, when in a collective play, Daniel Ruiz scored the 0-1, and then, at 7 minutes of the second stage, in a corner kick taken by the author of the first goal and headed by Luis Carlos Ruiz. Millonarios had 19 shots in this game, of which five went on goal. And two ended in a goal, something that reassures his coach due to the number of approaches to the rival goal.
2. The level of Luis Carlos Ruiz
To try to find a solution to his offensive anemia in the auction of the semi-final homers, Millonarios moved quickly. The echoes of last semester’s elimination were still heard when the club announced the hiring of Luis Carlos Ruiz, who had just been the second top scorer in the 2022-I League, with 11 goals, two less than Dayro Moreno, another that sounded for return to Millonarios but that, finally, he renewed with Atlético Bucaramanga.
In terms of goals, Ruiz has responded so far: he scored the equalizer against Deportivo Pasto at El Campín, on the first date, and this Saturday he scored the second goal in the win against Nacional.
In addition, Ruiz, 35, has quickly integrated into the Millonarios offensive circuit and has contributed to the team’s offensive game, unlike what happened in the first half, for example, with Diego Herazo or Ricardo Márquez, good finishers, but with little association. The samarium was also key in the first goal, with the intelligence to deceive the defense: while everyone was waiting for him to turn to shoot, he played with the outside edge to leave Daniel Ruiz in front of the goal.
3. Millionaires drowned Nacional and made it look bad
If there is something to recognize in Millonarios, it is his intention to always go to the front. Thus, despite Nacional’s initial dominance in the first ten minutes, then he grabbed the ball, made it circulate and exposed Nacional’s defensive flaws, above and below.
In the second half, Daniel Cataño had his first minutes as a Millonarios player and quickly fit into Gamero’s idea, who had already had him as a player in Tolima, between 2018 and 2019. The only one left in debt was Carlos Gómez, that he was imprecise and did not always make the best decisions.
4. The absence of Sebastián Gómez weighed on Nacional
Sebastián Gómez was a key player in the campaign that led Nacional to get the 17th star. He was the balance in the midfield and also contributed to the attack.
Without Gomez, Herrera has been unable to find balance in the middle of the court. In the first half he bet on a recovery pairing with Alexander Mejía and Jhon Duque, but the former is at a low level and the latter failed to take off.
With the 0-1, the DT tried a more offensive option instead of Duque, Yeison Guzmán, but the problem worsened, to the point that he had to reinforce that area with the entry of Nelson Palacio, already with two goals against .
(In other news: Rigoberto Urán and a new sablazo: ‘Don’t eat the story of living tasty’)
5. Concerning individual levels in National
Nacional is making an effort to comply with the schedule, but the accumulation of matches begins to take its toll, beyond the fact that on the first date, Herrera rested the base payroll and put youth players against Cortuluá.
In addition to what was already mentioned with Alexander Mejía, Jefferson Duque came into play very little and on a couple of occasions he was left out of place. Andrés Andrade, beyond the play at the end of the first half in which he left Dorlan Pabón in front of the goal, looked very weak, and Dorlan himself was far from his level.
SPORTS
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