Millionaires experienced the full range of emotions in 90 minutes: from anxiety to drama, from drama to euphoria, from euphoria to tranquility and, finally, to the joy of returning to a League final, in a match in which who suffered a lot at the beginning, but in the end hit at the right moments to beat Medellín 2-1.
Millonarios, in one of his worst early stages of the semester, arrived alive at halftime thanks to two things: the great work of Juan Esteban Moreno, the blue goalkeeper, who saved five clear goal balls, and the partial tie between América and Boy in Cali.
The blues did not feel the absence of Álvaro Montero, their starting goalkeeper. In fact, Juanito was a great figure. But it was that of Juan Pablo Vargas, who, first, took away a start from the back, and second, disrupted the work of the defense, since the coordination between Andrés Llinás and Jorge Arias, who became a central defender, did not work.
Millos was very nervous, as if he wanted the game to end quickly at 0-0, a result that was enough to qualify. Mackalister Silva, who was returning from his injury, was very inaccurate, the forwards barely touched the ball and Daniel Cataño is still in the hole he fell into after returning from his physical problems.
Medellín, on the other hand, seemed like the one that needed the result to qualify. It took advantage of all the brand weaknesses and made 34,000 spectators suffer in the stands of El Campín and hundreds of thousands more on television.
A man of the house brought peace of mind to Millionaires
Alberto Gamero had to touch the team at halftime. Not only in the formation: Daniel Giraldo and Beckham Castro left and Stiven Vega and Jáder Valencia entered. And, at least in the first minutes of the second half, Millonarios began to play closer to Andrés Mosquera Marmolejo’s goal.
And in one of those plays that are becoming more frequent in Millonarios, in a charge from the side, came the goal that put the team in the final: Daniel Cataño finished off, the goalkeeper Mosquera released the ball and a man from the house, who he saw the star 14 as a ball picker and the 15 from the stands as part of the squad, he scored the goal that made Millos dream of the 16: Andrés Llinás sent it to the back of the goal and thousands of people dressed in blue exploded with emotion.
Medellín wanted to continue at the same pace and even claimed a penalty for a stomp on Luciano Pons by Llinás, which the VAR did not consider an offense. And Millonarios found peace of mind and got into the game for good thanks to the genius of Daniel Cataño, who received a pass from Silva in the area, gave Andrés Cadavid a hat and finished with class, at 18 minutes from the second.
It no longer mattered what happened in Cali, where Chicó came to be 1-2 up and then América came back. The atmosphere was already partying in El Campín. Millonarios was already beginning to try to manage the result and Medellín no longer came so easily.
But the game, as it came, was enough for Millonarios to have one more scare. And it came three minutes from the end, when the VAR warned the center-back Carlos Betancur of a very clear handball from Jorge Arias. Penalty for Medellín, which Émmerson Batalla exchanged for a goal in the 90th minute.
Betancur’s final whistle lit the party, triggered tears and increased euphoria. Millionaires is in the final. He had been working on it since the first games and now he confirmed it.
Jose Orlando Ascencio
sports deputy editor
@josasc
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