sábado, 8 de fevereiro de 2020

Boca sueña: le ganó por 2-0 a Atlético Tucumán y alcanzó a River en la punta de la Superliga

En febrero del año pasado, con Gustavo Alfaro en el banco de suplentes, a Boca se le evaporaron las chances de ser campeón de la Superliga por la derrota, como local, ante Atlético Tucumán. Las matemáticas lo permitían, pero Racing terminó festejando como se preveía. El destino los volvió a juntar, prácticamente en el mismo contexto: a pocas fechas del final, en la Bombonera y corriendo de atrás al puntero, en este caso River. Aunque sufrió, el déjà vu no ocurrió: Boca se impuso 2-0, con goles de Franco Soldano y Ramón Ábila, de penal, alcanzó la línea de su clásico rival (36 unidades) y le mete presión.

"Para ser campeón, hoy hay que ganar", estalló la Bombonera pocos segundos antes de que comenzara el encuentro. Ese grito de guerra contagió a un equipo que salió a la cancha con las intenciones evidentes de ganar: otro resultado no servía. Desde el primer minuto se hizo dueño de la pelota, con un ítem indisimulable: la idea del conjunto de Ricardo Zielinski sería la misma que hace un año, esperar y achicar espacios para, luego, ver dónde estaba el talón de Aquiles del local.

El gol de Soldano

Las idea tucumana de acudir a contragolpes no encontró frutos. Boca, generalmente, estuvo rápido ante esa estrategia, bien ubicado (especialmente sus centrocampistas, Campuzano y Pol Fernández) y sin la necesidad de cortar con falta. Con la posesión fue paciente, pero careció de profundidad. De hecho, en el gol xeneize hubo doble fortuna: a los 22 minutos, Franco Soldano trabó con fuerza en la salida del Decano, el rebote le cayó a un Salvio que, extrañamente, definió mal el mano a mano ante Lucchetti, que le dejó servido el gol al ex Unión: convirtió su segundo tanto en el torneo (el primero había sido ante Banfield).

Desde ahí, Boca tuvo desajustes defensivos. Toda la seguridad que había mostrado, la perdió a la media hora del partido. Y ahí fue donde el equipo tucumano encontró lo que buscaba: el punto débil de Boca fue el propio Boca, con infracciones absurdas en 3/4 de campo defensivo. La pelota parada fue el remedio para vivir en el encuentro, con frentazos de Melano y Heredia, acaso el que más chances tuvo en la visita: a los 7 y a los 30, dos cabezazos peligrosos (uno debajo del arco que erró de manera increíble); una volea de zurda que tapó bien Marcos Díaz, a los 31; un zurdazo, a los 17 minutos del complemento, desviado en una jugada que prometía gol.

El 2-0, de Ábila, de penal

Boca tuvo dos más en el cierre de la primera etapa a través de Toto: a los 32, Campuzano, la gran figura del encuentro, lo dejó mano a mano, eludió a Lucchetti pero le ahogaron el grito a centímetros de la línea; a los 38, tras un gran centro de Carlos Tevez, metió un cabezazo que encontró una de las tantas buenas intervenciones del Laucha. Y el segundo tiempo, el xeneize lo inició con una oportunidad clara: un zurdazo de Soldano que atajó bárbaro el ex arquero de Boca.

En el segundo tiempo, el público representó lo que se veía en la cancha: incertidumbre. Ya los gritos feroces no caían al campo, porque Boca se quedó mucho. Ni siquiera salió del entretiempo con la misma intención de manejar la pelota. Entonces, los de Zielinski se aproximaron con mayor peligro, aunque no terminaron de exigir demasiado a Díaz. Las modificaciones de Russo (Reynoso, Obando y Ábila), además, le dieron un cambio de aire en ofensiva y, así, entre Wanchope y Bebelo Reynoso armaron una contra en la última jugada que terminó en penal y gol del primero de ellos, tras una infracción del arquero..

Lo fundamental es que Boca ganó, la hinchada festejó y se mostró ilusionada. Porque es puntero y sueña con volver a ser la pesadilla de River.

Everton vs Crystal Palace match preview | Can the Toffees mount a late European charge?

Everton gave us a timely reminder as to why we dedicate so much time and money to following this team with the kind of joyous, last-minute victory we haven’t witnessed for years at Watford last week.

You have to go back to 2017 to find the last time Everton conceded first and won, the last time they went 2-0 down away from home and won was in 2015. The limbs in the away end when Theo Walcott slotted home were fully justified.

It doesn’t quite make up for all the disappointments we have endured since, but it does allow us to put them well behind us and look forward to the future with optimism.

Watford FC v Everton FC - Premier League

There is a real feeling that Carlo Ancelotti is beginning to build some momentum with this team, and it may yet result in a European place.

This year’s Premier League is so densely packed it means the Toffees are in contention for a top seven spot despite being frankly terrible for large parts of the campaign.

They go into Saturday’s game just four points behind fifth-placed Tottenham and can go sixth, albeit potentially temporarily,

There are definitely shades of ‘we can go top with a win at Villa’ about that last sentence, and Everton have a hard-earned reputation for messing things up just when progress in the table is in sight. But you’d hope that with Ancelotti in charge they have left those disappointments in the past and maintain the momentum gained with that win at Vicarage Road.

The opposition

While I hate to tempt fate, this may a good time to play Crystal Palace, as they look to be on the slide.

They head to Goodison on a run of just one win in ten games, a Boxing Day victory over West Ham, and on the back of successive home defeats without scoring a goal.

Crystal Palace v Sheffield United - Premier League

Granted, one of the games on that run was a 2-2 draw at Manchester City, but that looks like the exception rather than the rule given it is just the third time in fifteen matches that they have scored more than once.

A lack of goals is most certainly a problem, with a league-low 22 scored so far and the over-reliance on Wilfried Zaha becoming increasingly stark.

Cenk Tosun was brought in to offer support and scored in that draw at City, but has promptly picked up a hamstring injury (and couldn’t have played at Goodison anyway due to the terms of his loan). The Eagles failed to add any more players to the squad last month, meaning the experienced Hodgson will once again have to make do with what he had.

That said, they are generally well organised at the back, with only three teams conceding fewer than their 29 so far. Their points tally of 30 has also put them within sight of safety (and to put this crazy league table in context, they can actually go level with Everton with a win.)

Even if they lose on Saturday, I expect them to pick up at least two wins from the next four games against Newcastle, Brighton, Watford and Bournemouth, which would put them on the brink of securing a seventh successive season in the top flight.

Previous meeting

August 10, 2019 - Crystal Palace 0-0 Everton (match report)

Crystal Palace v Everton FC - Premier League

It was a tepid start to the new campaign for both sides as they played out a turgid goalless draw at Selhurst Park back in August.

Recent form

Everton

Watford (A) Won 3-2

Newcastle (H) Drew 2-2

West Ham (A) Drew 1-1

Brighton (H) Won 1-0

Liverpool (A - FA Cup) Lost 1-0

Crystal Palace

Sheffield Utd (H) Lost 1-0

Southampton(H) Lost 2-0

Man City (A) Drew 2-2

Arsenal (H) Drew 1-1

Derby (H - FA Cup third round) Lost 1-0

Team news

Fabian Delph is, of course, serving his one-match suspension for his red card in the Watford win, so it is likely to be Gylfi Sigurðsson in midfield again, alongside either Morgan Schneiderlin or Tom Davies.

Fellow midfielders André Gomes and Jean-Philippe Gbamin remain out, but Ancelotti is planning a friendly during the winter break to aid Gomes’ rapid recovery from his fractured dislocation to his ankle, with a return pencilled in for the trip to Arsenal on February 23.

Gbamin, absent since August, will be out for hopefully no more than eight more weeks after Ancelotti revealed on Friday the surgery on his thigh injury was a success.

What they said

Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti: “I expect a difficult game as is every game in the Premier League. Every team has its own quality, Crystal Palace have their own quality, a manager with lots of experience, players with a lot of quality.

“We have to do our 100 per cent, and with the support of our stadium, I think we can have three points.”

Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson: “Carlo has done very well since he came into the club, players are full of confidence that good results bring with it. It’s always a difficult game at Goodison Park but we’re ready for that.”

Final word

The form of both sides points towards a home victory, but this is an Everton side who can hold a 2-0 lead going into the 94th minute and still not win, so everything is possible.

However, with games against Arsenal and Chelsea waiting after the winter break, it is important to get a decent result here if they are to show their late European challenge is genuine.f

Everton vs Crystal Palace: kickoff time, starting lineups, TV schedule, live stream and how to watch online

Preview

The staggered winter break starts this weekend for the Premier League, with Everton in action in the Saturday early game at home to Crystal Palace. The Blues bounced back from a disappointing late showing at home against Newcastle a fortnight ago to stage their own smash-and-grab at Watford FC last weekend to snatch all three points at the death.

Now they face a resolute Crystal Palace side that continues to perform in the same mould that Roy Hodgson has them playing at for the last few years. The Toffees opened this season with a stalemate 0-0 draw in London - in fact, of the last ten times the two times have met six games have ended in a draw with the Blues winning the other four.

Everton’s injury woes are starting to abate, but they will be without Andre Gomes who is still a fortnight away from a return while Fabian Delph is suspended after getting himself foolishly sent off at the Hornets last weekend.

With the Premier League table as congested as it is, Carlo Ancelotti will look to keep collecting points where he can get them, especially with tougher tests coming up in March that will actually determine whether Everton will be in the conversation for European qualification come the end of the season.

Crystal Palace go as Wilfried Zaha goes and with 22 goals have the lowest goals scored of any team in the League. Jordan Ayew has blown hot and cold this season while on-loan Cenk Tosun marked his debut with a goal against Manchester City, but is now out injured. The Eagles were doing relatively well until two straight defeats to Southampton and Sheffield United put the brakes on a five-match unbeaten run.

Match Details

Competition: Premier League Matchday 26

Date and start time: Saturday, February 8th at 4:30 a.m. PT / 7:30 a.m ET / 12:30 p.m. BST

Stadium: Goodison Park, Liverpool, England, United Kingdom

Capacity: 39,572

Weather: 49°F/9°C, partly cloudy, 4% chance of precipitation, 17 mph winds

How to Watch/Listen

TV: NBCSN, Telemundo - United States; BT Sport Ultimate, BT Sport 1 - United Kingdom; DAZN - Canada, beIN Sports HD 2, beIN Sports HD 11, SuperSport 3 Africa, RMC Sport 1, Sport TV2

Radio: evertontv, TalkSport Radio World, SiriusXM FC

Live stream: NBC Sports App, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, BT Sport Live, Canal+ France, ESPN Play Sur, beIN SPORTS CONNECT, DStv Now, RUSH

Gamethread: Live blog above starting one hour before game time

*Royal Blue Mersey has affiliate partnerships and may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links provided.

Lineups

Everton

Crystal Palace

Last Meeting

The Blues drew 0-0 away at the Eagles to start off the season, matching the same scoreline the last time they were in London last season too. In this fixture last season at Goodison though, goals from Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Cenk Tosun gave the Blues a 2-0 win. Seamus Coleman had conceded a soft penalty early on with Zaha going down easily in the box, but Jordan Pickford kept out Luka Milivojevic’s effort and the game stayed tied until DCL’s header with three minutes to go edged Everton ahead and Tosun put on the finishing touches a couple of minutes later.