Chilean Football Update - Saturday 22nd May
Católica still have their Libertadores fate in their own hands, Audax top the Men's league and a strong start from the usual suspects in the Women's league.
Due to work commitments, I have unfortunately not been able to provide updates from Chile over the past couple of weeks or so. Therefore there is plenty to catch up on. Remember you can support the running of this newsletter by tipping me below:
Continental Disappointment (Again)
The panorama for Chilean clubs in continental competition isn’t looking very healthy as we enter the final round of group matches in both the Libertadores and Sudamericana. Although Universidad Católica (who I had written off after 2 matches) do have a decent chance of making it out the group stage.
After a positive Matchday 4 in the Libertadores and Sudamericana where Universidad Católica and Huachipato both grabbed impressive results away from home, they followed up with two very disappointing displays in Matchday 5. Only Argentinos Juniors have performed well in this group and that means that Católica just need to beat Atletico Nacional (COL) on the last matchday this week to qualify, a draw will be enough if Nacional (URU) fail to beat Argentinos Juniors.
Huachipato move into the final matchday with a slim chance of qualification. They need to beat San Lorenzo at home while they hope Rosario Central lose at home to Paraguayan side 12 de Octubre. Huachipato had got themselves in a strong position in the group, but a 5-0 defeat away to Rosario Central during the week blew their chances with just one team going through to the knockout stage from each group.
Palestino have been especially disappointing this year in the Sudamericana and will deservedly finish bottom of their group. Unión La Calera meanwhile have competed well in a very tough Libertadores group but would need a win by 3 goals away to LDU Quito to get third and qualify for the Sudamericana. Their 2-2 draws at home to Flamengo and LDU Quito from strong winning positions ultimately proved their downfall.
U23 Player of the Weeks
As I mentioned previously, I haven’t been able to do this newsletter for a few weeks so I have some pending awards to give out:
POTW - Matchday 6 - Diego Valencia - The Universidad Católica striker had an excellent 7 days where he scored a vital and spectacular goal to help Católica to victory against Nacional in the Libertadores then followed up with a brace against Unión La Calera in the league. He then assisted the winner for Zampedri in Católica’s 1-0 win away to Argentinos Juniors. Valencia is a forward that has been much maligned over the past year or so, therefore this felt like a huge week for him and it will be interesting to see if he can kick on from here.
POTW -Matchday 7 - Zacarias Lopez - One of the biggest surprises of the season so far has been the form of Deportes La Serena who sit second in the table and their young goalkeeper is a big reason why. Lopez made his debut for his hometown club San Marcos de Arica at the age of just 15 (a Copa Chile game I attended!) such was his level of talent, even then he looked ultra-confident despite his age. At La Serena, he has developed into one of the best keepers Chile has produced for many years. Always alert, an excellent communicator, confident with the ball at his feet and also capable of match-winning saves - it is just a matter of time before the national team and bigger clubs come calling. On Matchday 7 he helped La Serena to victory over Ñublense by pulling off a number of good saves to keep a clean sheet for the sixth match in a row.
Men’s Chilean Primera Division Update
After seven matches of the campaign, we have just one unbeaten side remaining - Audax Italiano, they have been in control of every match they have played to date and are certainly the surprise package nobody saw coming having gone close to relegation last season. They have taken 13 points in their matches and that is enough to see them top at this stage although Católica sit just a point back with a game in hand, but are yet to fully convince. Deportes La Serena, who are on a remarkable run of clean sheets, sit in second and Audax on the opening weekend of the season remain the only side to beat them so far.
Universidad de Chile sit just two points off the top with a game in hand but remain one of the dullest sides in the league to watch and rarely convince in victory. Colo-Colo sit mid-table, but have been unlucky with injuries, Covid-19 and decisions at times so far this year and can be expected to challenge near the top this season as the season settles.
Unión La Calera, despite a tough schedule with Libertadores commitments (no break between games until last weekend when all games were postponed due to national elections), are in 6th but their poor performance against Universidad Católica last time out is a worry.
Both Ñublense and Deportes Melipilla have impressed since coming up from Primera B with their relentless attacking football. They are the two sides that have had the most touches in the opposition box so far this season and on expected points formulas they are top 4 material. Using the same metric, Cobresal are another side to keep an eye on as they have fewer points than they arguably deserve so far.
Unión Española were the first club to change managers this season after a really disappointing campaign so far under Jorge Pellicer. The impact of his replacement Cesar Bravo (an internal appointment) was instant with UE claiming a surprise 4-1 win away to O’Higgins (who sit 4th) on the last matchday.
At the other end of the table, Santiago Wanderers have changed managers already after a run of 6 defeats under Ronald Fuentes at the start of the season. This is a young Wanderers side that played some nice football at times under Fuentes to start with, but as the confidence got shredded the performances plummeted too. Victor Rivero is his replacement who has an impressive record at Primera B level, but yet to fully prove himself in the top flight. Rivero was born in Valparaiso so will be highly motivated to get his boyhood club out of trouble.
Everton sit in the penultimate spot and are perhaps the biggest disappointments so far in the league given the level of talent in their squad. Manager Roberto Sensini could well lose his job if their poor form continues this weekend. Curicó, who were predicted to struggle, are currently third from bottom and look a side set to stay around that zone for much of the campaign. Just above them are Palestino and Huachipato who are both in false positions given they’ve played two fewer games than most sides. In 12th are Antofagasta who are the team that have arguably won more points than they deserve and could drop down the table fast if performances don’t improve.
Men’s Chilean Primera Division Matchday 8 Preview
Three sides including the leaders Audax Italiano will not be in action this weekend - Palestino and Unión La Calera are the other 2 with the weekend off. Deportes La Serena will have a chance to go top of the league when they kick off on Saturday morning away to Cobresal, they’ll have that clean sheet record fully tested against Cobresal who currently with the best xG total in the league.
Ñublense are the side who have scored the most goals so far, although five of them came against a mostly U23 Colo-Colo side hit by Covid. The newly-promoted side have impressed on their return to the top flight and may even go top if their beat rivals Curicó in a clásico.
Unión Española vs. Universidad Católica is the most high-profile match of the weekend with both sides still with plenty to prove while Colo Colo’s trip away to Huachipato should prove a very watchable match.
Women’s League Gets Underway
The Campeonato Femenino in Chile finally got underway a couple of weeks ago with six of the eight scheduled fixtures being given the go-ahead. Due to Covid-19 issues, the other two games were suspended, a pattern that continued into the following week. Current champions Santiago Morning have started as you’d expect a favourite would, but Universidad de Chile impressed the most in the recent Libertadores while Colo-Colo, as in men´s football, are the giant of the league and have also been in dominant form in the first couple of matchdays.
If you would like to catch the women’s league then the live matches can often be found on the social media outlets of the clubs such as Facebook and YouTube.
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