Universitario thrashed Cienciano 3-0 in what was an impressive performance from all around. Cienciano put up a good fight against the “U” but the Cusco club had absolute no chance. The cremas opened the scoring and never looked back, controlling every aspect of the match.

Emmanuel Herrera scored the opening goal after rebounding Piero Quispe ball. Quispe was fouled near the penalty box but Herrera quickly snagged the ball and shot a laser to the back of the net. Near the end of the half Luis Urruti made a nice chip over the Cienciano goalkeeper to make it 2-0. Rodrigo Ureña also made a stellar 1st half by patrolling the centre-midfield defensively.

The 2nd half was more quiet as both clubs didn’t produce much attacks. The crema defense led by Williams Riveros shut down Cienciano completely. Piero Quispe scored the 3rd goal in a precise shot to the back of the net. It was a stellar performance all-around.

Universitario’s victory now puts them in 1st place (for now). They need Deportivo Garcilaso, Univ. Cesar Vallejo, Sporting Cristal, and Alianza Lima to either lose or draw their matches. Their next match up is no other than Deportivo Garcilaso in Cusco next Friday.

Universitario edges AD Tarma 3-1 in a strong performance from Luis Urruti and company. The match involved many controversial missed calls by the referee as well as bad calls. Urruti and Emmanuel Herrera helped carry the “U” to victory against all odds.

The “U” came into this match limitless due to being without their key stars such as goalkeeper Jose Carvallo, forward Alex Valera, and winger Andy Polo because of international duty. And the key absences made an impact in the 1st half of the match. After Urruti scored off a great volley in the 33rd minute, ADT tied the match after a miscalculation by backup goalkeeper Diego Romero. ADT’s Janio Posito scored off a header and things were looking wrong for Universitario. Before the goal, Piero Quispe was fouled inside the penalty area and no call was made. Similar plays happened inside and outside the penalty area only for the ref to ignore. ADT had many players offsides as well but the referee ignored too.

The 2nd half opened with little hope due to the same issues from the referee happening again. It was until Urruti was fouled inside the penalty area and the referee finally made the call. Maybe he was afraid for a wild backlash. Emmanuel Herrera was tasked to take the PK and was denied but scored off the rebound. 2 minutes later in the 67th min, Luis Urruti scored off a great pass by Herrera and bended his shot away from the ADT keeper to make it 3-1 cremas. The “U” controlled the rest of the 2nd half with great defense as well as the midfield patrolling offensively.

After what it looked like a doomsday night for Universitario, they played through tremendous adversity and overcame the odds. The crema fans showed up and brought the noise to help the club win. As of now, the “U” sit in 2nd place of the Apertura table by 1 point behind leaders Deportivo Garcilaso. Next match will be vs Cienciano on Friday March 24 8:30 Peru time (9:30pm ET, 6:30pm PT) at the Estadio Monumental. The match is a reschedule match from match day 1 due to the nationwide riots earlier in the year.

Universitario escapes Cusco with a 2-1 win over Binacional in a thrilling win after being down 1-0 in the beginning. Alex Valera, who missed many close opportunities in past matches, scored the game winning goal. It was another match where the result could’ve been a lot better for the “U” but they had so many missed shots.

The match was played in Cusco instead of Juliaca due to the rain and floods in the region. Binacional opened scoring with a free-kick header goal by Andy Polar in the 16th minute. Universitario fired back and earned a penalty after a hand ball in the box. Emmanuel Herrera, who missed a penalty earlier in the season, converted the penalty to make it 1-1 in the 21st minute.

Universitario pressed on early in the 2nd half with so many missed opportunities. Binacional also had their share of close goals but also came short. During stoppage time where things look like to remain the same, Alex Valera scored the game winning goal in the 94th minute. Valera scored off a header and the sent all the visiting crema fans in Cusco home happy.

It was a near-perfect match for Universitario. If Andy Polo had not allowed Polar to be open and score, then the “U” could’ve had a shut out win. Defensively it was a good outing as well as the midfield who helped fed the attacks. This is the teamwork where it was lacked early on in the season.

The “U” came into this match in 13th place, now they sit in 6th place. Next match will be at the Estadio Monumental this Saturday vs ADT.

Universitario ended their 3 game losing streak by defeating Melgar in a thrilling 1-0 victory. Piero Quispe created the scoring opportunity by shooting at goal until a Melgar defender, Alejandro Ramos, deflected the shot into the back of the net. The crema defense did their work by locking down Melgar for 90+ minutes.

Jorge “Coco” Araujo served as the interim manager since Jorge Fossati was not available to manage yesterday. Araujo used the same XI that Carlos Compagnucci used (4-5-1) with Alex Valera on top. They also played without key players Rodrigo Ureña, Matias Di Benedetto, and Horacio Calcaterra.

It was a match where many non-regular players stepped up in a big way. Williams Riveros improved tremendously as well as Piero Quispe. Quispe has been on the bench throughout the 4 matches as a sub despite being a key star in 2022. Martin Perez Guedes also played a great match as he covered the entire pitch offensively and defensively. However, the players who disappointed were Alex Valera & Andy Polo. Both continue to struggle and went in the entire match missing their chances.

Melgar played the match by “parking the bus”, a term where they played 8+ men behind the ball with little to no attackers. The method is not working for them as they came into yesterday losing all their matches thus far. After the “U” scored in the 56th minute, they quickly changed course and dominated possession. They had a perfect goal scoring opportunity by going passed Jose Carvallo into an open net until Piero Guzman (who came in as a sub) cleared the shot.

The “U” finally cut the losing streak and are back on track in the Apertura race. They are 4 points behind place holders Cesar Vallejo and Carlos Manucci (10 points each). New manager Jorge Fossati will likely making his managerial debut this Thursday vs Cienciano in the Copa Sudamericana or next week vs Binacional.

Universitario will host arch rivals Alianza Lima in the Estadio Monumental for the 368th time in history of the Peruvian Clásico. This is a high stakes matchup since both clubs are sitting at 3 points in the Apertura table, eyeing on going ahead with a win today. After a disappointing loss vs Union Comercio last week, Universitario must turn things around against the arch rivals.

The possible starting XI would be similar to last week with Carvallo as goalkeeper; Cabanillas, Riveros, Di Benedetto, and Corzo at defense; Luis Urruti and Andy Polo at the wings; Jose Rivera, Rodrigo Ureña and Horacio Calcaterra at midfield; Alex Valera on top. Urruti was inactive last week as a precaution for today’s match, his presence is a must have in today’s important match since he was great leadership and IQ. Key subs would be Emmanuel Herrera, Piero Quispe, Martin Perez Guedes, Yuriel Celi, and Alexander Succar. With the stacked offensive subs, Universitario eyes on piling goals to win.

Alianza Lima is coming in to today’s match with a win last week vs Sport Boys. They are a team that you can’t make a mistake on. If the crema defense such as veterans Corzo and Riveros can lock up the Alianza attackers, then Universitario should have no problem. Key subs on defense would bo Hugo Ancajima and Piero Guzman. Guzman can possibly start tomorrow as he is coming off a red card suspension and maybe start as left back (Cabanillas’ knee issues could have him sidelined for tomorrow). The “U” has the speed of Andy Polo and Jose Rivera to take on the Alianza defense.

Universitario just needs to achieve what the they failed to do last week which was to capitalize on their opportunities. Alex Valera had perfect goal scoring opportunities but failed to complete them. If he could’ve scored those multiple chances, the “U” could’ve won the match in Tarapoto. Like matches before: if the “U” scores first, they control the game. This is their first home match of the year in front of fans (last home match was behind closed doors due to the Peru riots). The home crowd always helps and the full house crowd will make the stadium loud.

Kickoff will be at 3:30pm ET, 12:30 PT in the Estadio Monumental and the match will be broadcasted live on GOLPERU.