Cristian Benavente returned to the courts after more than a year when he made his debut with César Vallejo. Credit: League 1
Cristian Benavente is back. After a severe injury to his left knee that kept him away from the fields for more than a year, the ‘Chaval’ was able to return to action last Friday, February 2, in the match between Universidad César Vallejo and Melgar for the second day. of the 2024 Liga 1 Apertura Tournament. After that, he shared his excitement about playing again.
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At the end of the match at the Mansiche, with victory for the ‘poet’ team, the footballer expressed his joy for the positive result and also highlighted the fact of having played an official duel again (in Uruguay he played a friendly). The last time the winger had played a game was in October 2022, against Municipal in League 1. Since then, he has been recovering and, in fact, was left without playing the previous season. But this 2024 is different for him.
“Happy for the three points, for the group, they deserved to win today, there was a great effort for the group and personally with very good feelings. After so long, it’s exciting to play again. We have had opportunities to score the fourth goal, we have had an important rival in front,” declared the ‘Lad’ for L1Max.
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In the duel against Melgar, Benavente was able to enter in the 69th minute, replacing his teammate Osnar Noronha, who scored one of the goals of the contest. According to the Sofascore portal, in the time that he was able to be on the court, the 29-year-old winger only gave 13 touches, generated two key passes and had a 63% passing accuracy.
Cristian Benavente played his first game of the season against Melgar in Mansiche. Credit: League 1
César Vallejo’s brand new reinforcement for this season will have greater continuity little by little, depending on how things evolve. The truth is that he has prepared for this moment for quite some time and at no time did he think about throwing in the towel. His efforts are beginning to bear fruit.
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“I wouldn’t say that I have wasted my time, since when you are injured there is work for the future, recovering playing time and I think Vallejo is the right club. It is complicated, we are used to playing every few days and it is complicated, but now we are fine and thinking only about what is coming,” he highlighted.
The next challenge for the Trujillo team will be against UTC de Cajamarca as a visitor. This match will take place on Friday, February 9 from 3:00 p.m. in Peru and Benavente hopes to be the protagonist once again with his team, to continue accumulating minutes, which will allow him to return to his best level.
Beyond being completely recovered, Cristian Benavente received other good news, when the signing of Paolo Guerrero by the ‘poet’ institution was confirmed. The ‘kid’ will have an important offensive partner in the ‘Predator’ and he was excited to share experiences and goals together.
Roberto Mosquera’s team won 3-2 over the Arequipa team in the city of Trujillo. (Video: League 1 Max)
“Guerrero is one of the best players in the history of Peru, the best striker in recent years and having him with us is a dream. Of course, I can already imagine it (giving assists to Paolo) and all the goals he can score for us. He is a world-class striker and having him be with us is a privilege,” said the winger.
Previously, both players have already shared a locker room in the Peruvian soccer team, where the player had a discreet step. Unfortunately, he failed to live up to the fans’ expectations. On the contrary, Guerrero is the top scorer in the history of the ‘blanquirroja’ and, with Vallejo, he will provide a great deal of experience and hierarchy.