2024-09-15 03:01:00
Vélez did not let itself be overwhelmed by the Muniain effect that had Mundo San Lorenzo in suspense in the last week, and as a result of its good play, it took the three points to Liniers to be more leader than ever. It was a great match, back and forth, which had a special spice with the official debut of the 31-year-old Spaniard who played 22 minutes and received a warm reception before the match at the Nuevo Gasómetro.
When the stadium’s voice announced Iker Muniain, the local crowd erupted in applause, which came from all four sides of the Pedro Bidegain. At the same time, the chant “Vasco, Vasco” was heard. The ovation that the Spaniard received was at the same level of applause as when they announced Johan Romaña, Malcom Braida and Nahuel Barrios, the most beloved along with coach Leandro Pipi Romagnoli.
From the start, Vélez imposed the game conditions by standing in the opponent’s half and taking control of the ball. In the first collective play, Braian Romero opened the scoring with a header and silenced Bajo Flores. At a disadvantage, the home team was disconcerted and the visitors took advantage to disturb the goal defended by Gastón Gómez. That was how they had the second chance at the feet of Cristian Ordoñez, but his shot went wide. Then, Francisco Pizzini also had his chance, but he lacked aim.
The home team was not coming out of its lethargy and Vélez was besieging it with four defenders, two central midfielders, three more advanced midfielders and a centre forward. In turn, the blue and red team with the classic 433 gave the ball to the rival, while the Basque was biting his lips on the bench, eager to enter the field to show why he played for more than 10 years at Athletic Bilbao.
The strategy of the Liniers team was to wait in their own half to counterattack, with the speed of Ordoñez and Thiago Fernández. Due to a lack of efficiency, the visitors were unable to extend the difference. On the other hand, San Lorenzo’s performance was very poor in the first half. They lacked elaboration in the midfield and there were no partnerships between Irala, Sosa and Tripichio. However, they had three goal-scoring opportunities: a shot by Matías Reali, a left-footed shot by Nahuel Arias and a header by Alexis Cuello. In addition, towards the end of the first half Tripicchio suffered an injury that left his place to Nahuel Bustos.
At half-time, Romagnoli sent Muniain running, wearing the number 80 jersey, who took a second to greet the plateistas of the lower North. The minutes passed and San Lorenzo was having trouble breaking through defensive lines. For this reason, Pipi brought on Andrés Vombergar for Leguizamón, who did little in the match. However, the visitors wasted countless goal opportunities to close out the match.
At 72′, Muniain made his debut, coming on alongside Gonzalo Luján for Arias and Reali. His entry caused excitement in the crowd: “Let’s go Ciclón, we’re going to win,” they chanted from the stands. The Spaniard stood up as an inside midfielder, next to Irala. The first ball he touched was a free kick that he took with his left foot and caused Valentín Gómez to deflect it to the corner. Immediately afterwards, he got the fans excited with his hands. Then, he played and made his teammates play, although it was not enough for Ciclón to get the equaliser.