by J.P. Devetori
Universitario heads to Trujillo in another decisive match this time vs Carlos Manucci with Apertura hopes on the line once again. The Apertura deficit is back at 5 points again after Melgar’s victory on Friday and our objective remains the same: Win and cut that deficit.
Ever since Jorge ‘Coco’ Araujo’s arrival as interim manager for the “U”, the cremas are unbeaten with 2 straight wins and one draw. Things have looked better since ‘Coco’s arrival and the squad doesn’t look like they’re going to stop any longer. This is the Universitario we missed from the end of 2021, hungry to win and playing with claw.
After a decent past couple seasons where they qualified to the 2021 Sudamericana and missed out on the 2022 edition by one point, Carlos Manucci has been on the losing side most of the Apertura season. Manucci has drawn their last 2 matches but lost 3 in a row before that. The “U” will be a hard test for Manucci since the cremas outnumber the Trujillo club with talent and there will be more “U” fans in Trujillo than Manucci fans.
All Universitario needs to do is simple and repeat from the past couple wins: Dominate possession and capitalize on opponent’s mistakes. The “U” did just that and had a commanding 3-1 win over Alianza Atletico. Manucci is a vulnerable team and are prone to make easy mistakes.
Kickoff is at 3:30 Peru time (4:30 EST, 1:30 PST) at Trujillo, Peru. Post-match recap and analysis to be posted Monday. Y DALE U!
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