Palestino 4-2 Curico Unido ( att : 0 ) – Chilean Primera Division

January 4, 2021

With Bet365 streaming live football from Chile, and nothing better to do on the Monday afternoon after New Year it was an opportunity to sample some football from South America.

Unlike most other leagues in South America, who operate under the Apertura and Clausera formats to determine the champions, and an aggregate table of average points over 3 years to determine relegation, the current system in Chile uses the “European” system of everyone playing each other twice to determine the final placings.

Following nationwide protests against the Government, the 2019 season was abandoned with 6 rounds of matches still to be played, and the league table as it stood was declared to be final. As a result, Universidad Catolica were the champions, with Colo-Colo runners-up, Palestino third, with Union La Calera, Coquimbo Unido, Huachipato and Audax Italiano qualifying for the COPA Sudamerica places.

Due to the impact of the termination of the previous season, the Chilean FA approved an expansion of the Primera Division from 16 sides to 18, with two sides promoted to join the 16 teams in the 2019 top division for a 34 match season. Qualification to the COPA Libertadores would be awarded to the top four teams at the end of the season with the next four placed sides entering the COPA Sudamerica. Normally the winners of the COPA Chile would qualify for the COPA Libertadores but the Chilean FA decided to award this spot to the side finishing 4^th as the 2020 COPA Chile would not be started by the time the 2021 COPA Libertadores was scheduled to commence.

As there was no relegation in the 2019 season, three sides are to be relegated to the second tier, being the last place side in the 2020 standings, the last placed team in a relegation table based on performances over 2019 and 2020, plus the losers of a play-off between the teams placed second to last in both tables. It’s clearer than it sounds !

The 2020 season started on January 2020 but was then suspended between March 18 to August 29 due to the Covid pandemic. Following the subsequent resumption, the season was scheduled to be completed by the end of January 2021, and all matches have been played behind closed doors.

Club Deportivo Palestino were formed in the capital Santiago in 1920 by immigrants from Palestine. When a league structure was introduced in Chile in 1952, Palestino were originally placed in the second division but rose to become national champions in 1955, and again in 1978. They have won the COPA Chile three times, in 1975, 1977 and 2018. The home stadium is the 8,000 capacity Estadio Municipal de La Cisterna, and they play in quiet a natty strip of Green, White and Red stripes with Black shorts. Their average attendance in 2019 was 2,127.

In the COPA Libertadores second qualification stage Palestino convincingly eliminated Cerro Largo from Uruguay 6-2 on aggregate before being eliminated 1-3 on aggregate to Guarani from Paraguay in the third qualification round, which was insufficient to drop down to the COPA Sudamerica.

Curico is located nearly 200km south of Santiago in the Maule central region. Founded in 1973 Unido have won no major honours, although they have been in the Primera Division since 2017, with 8^th being their best position. Their colours are all white with a red diagonal sash, similar to Peru. However, today they will wear their change strip of all red with a white diagonal sash. Curico’s home ground is the 8,273 capacity Estadio La Granja.

Before the start of today’s match, Palestino and Curico lay in 8th and 6th respectively with games in hand over the sides around them in the table but in a very tight league 14^th placed Universidad de Concepcion are still in with a good chance of the 8^th place and a COPA Sudamerica slot. A win for Palestino would take them above Curido but a win for the visitors could see them rise to 4^th and into a COPA Libertadores place.

Palestino have a pretty decent 7-3-3 home record, with their 3-2-7 away record, only the 14^th best in the division, dragging them down. However, they had won their 4 previous matches, having previously lost 8 out of 9 matches before that.

Unido have a modest 3-3-6 away record, but their home form ( 8-1-3 ) is the reason for their high placement. Their last two scheduled fixtures were postponed due to Covid, with 11 cases reported amongst their squad. This came after three consecutive losses - Huachipato 0-1 ( A ) ( thanks a huge goalkeeper error when Garces was tackled in possession ), Cobresal 0-1 ( H ), Everton de Vina del Mar 1-3 ( A ) - had seen them slip away from COPA Libertadores contention.  Prior to that Unido had taken 17 points out of previous 21 in a 7 game unbeaten run.

Unido’s coach is former Boca Juniors, Villareal and Argentina International striker Martin Palermo, who is in the Guinness Book of World Records for missing three penalties in the same international match ( vs Colombia in 1999 ). Palestino are coached by former Chile International Jose Luis Sierra, who scored for Chile against Cameroon in the 1998 World Cup Finals in France.

When the two sides met at the end of October, Curico were 1-0 winners thanks to a 55^th minute penalty from midfielder Pablo Parra, awarded after a Palestino defender rugby tackled a Curico player at a corner. This came shortly after Palestino were reduced to 10 men after a second yellow card to defender Enzo Guerrero.

Palestino’s line-up today includes four Argentinians : keeper Fredrico Lanzillotta ( ex-Argentino Juniors ), midfielder Augustin Farias ( ex APOEL Nicosia and top scorer with 7 goals ), forward Jonathan Benitez ( who has scored 6 times ) and centre-back Lucas Acevedo.

Local players include 36 year old forward Luis Jimenez ( ex-West Ham, Fiorentina and Inter and 36 caps ), midfielder Bryan Carrasco ( 3 caps and ex-Dinamo Zagreb), midfielder Carlos Villaneuva ( ex-Blackburn Rovers & 13 caps ) & Cesar Cortes ( 3 caps and formerly of Polonia Warsaw ) who has played in 24 of their 25 league matches. There are two changes from Palestino’s last match, a 2-0 win at Deportes Iquique , but only 6 of the starting XI against Curico in October start today.

The Unido sides includes Argentinian midfielder Ferdinand Godoy, who has played in Greece with Atromitros and Panetoikos. Argentinian forward Frederico Castro ( ex Palestino ) has 8 goals from 21 appearances but hasn’t featured since early December but returns to the line-up today. They are the only foreign nationals in the starting XI although Venezuelan Heber Garcia and veteran striker Uruguayan Diego Vera are amongst the substitutes.

After his error against Huachipato, 36 year old keeper Paulo Garces is dropped in favour of Fabian Cerda. 37 year old midfielder Martin Cortes has been ever-present in all 24 matches and centre-back Francis Bechtholdt has made 22 appearances this season. There are just 3 changes from the team that beat Palestino in their first encounter, with 36 year old Yerson Opazo ( 1 cap ) and 38 year old Carlos Espinoza, who had a short spell with Orgryte in Sweden, both on the bench. Veteran 37 year old Jose Rojas, who won 22 caps, does not make the matchday squad.

Kick-off is at 10.30am local time, a 3 hour time difference with the UK, with the early kick-off intended to avoid playing in the 30+ degree afternoon heat in Chile at this time of the year, and it is 22 degrees when the match starts.  Kick-offs in other recent matches have been either 10.30, 19.30 or 21.30.

Palestino’s Estadio Municipal de La Cisterna has hardly any cover, with an open stand having sectors of seats in the club colours of red, white, green and black, terraces behind each goal, with the quaint main stand having just a small roof in the centre, presumably for the dignitaries. The pitch is surrounded by what looks to be a disused running track, on which the ambulance and fire engine are parked, and despite the ground only having been built in 1988 it doesn’t have any floodlights.

 

 

Bet365 have Palestino 8/15 favourites, Unido 9/2 outsiders, with the draw at 3/1.

The game kicks-off 5 minutes late as the female assistant referee needs to be fasten one of the nets ed more securely to the post. Although the match is behind closed doors there are sounds of drums and brass instruments. It not clear whether this is real or imaginative fake crowd noise from the TV channel !

Palestino make a bright start and nearly take the lead after 35 seconds when Villaneuva crosses to Jimenez beyond the far past, but he mis-kicks from 6 yards out. They have a big penalty appeal after 2 minutes which the referee ignores.

Palestino are rewarded for their early play in the 14^th minute when left-back Fernandez cuts in from his flank, beats two players and shoots from long distance. Cerda is only able to weakly push away into the path of Carrasco who fires home from the edge of the 6 yard box.  Whilst the goal is being repeated on TV from 6 different angles, Palestino score again. Curico lose possession in their own half from the kick-off, Villaneuva threads a pass to put Benitez clear to shot left-footed across the face of the goal into the corner from around 10 yards. Whilst Cerda should have done much better for the first goal, there was little he could do about the second. The goals are celebrated by interactive images of fans watching at home.

 

 

Against the run of play, Curico pull a goal back in the 21st minute. Parra’s cross from left appears to be met at the far post by Castro and the ball bounces slowly past the keeper towards the goal and ends up in the net. TV award the goal as an own goal to Fernandez though, who the replays confirm did get the touch before the Curico striker.

The game becomes niggly as Curico try to get back into match but Palestino continue to look the better team. Five minutes before half-time they look certain to restore their two goal advantage when a curling cross from the right is heading to Benitez inside the 6 yard box, but a defender is able to get a block in and the ball rebounds away off the forward for a goal-kick.

On the stroke of half-time, Palestino win a free-kick wide on the right. The ball is played long beyond the far post where Benitez controls and fires low across the 6 yard box where Acevedo slides into steer into the goal despite the desperate efforts of several defenders. Their 3-1 lead at half-time is fair reflection of the balance of play in the first half.

 

 

Curico make one change at half-time, bringing on Venezuela forward/winger Garcia to replace right-back Buss, and immediately they win a free-kick in a dangerous position just outside the Palestino area. Parra’s curling effort is easily saved but Lanzillota makes it look much more spectacular than it needed to be.

Curico certainly look livelier at the start of the second half and in the 58^th minute Parra’s shot from edge of the box goes agonisingly wide. A minute later Parra’s inviting cross sees no-one at the far post to meet it.  

The now obligatory flare up occurs in the 62^nd minute when Vera scythes down Villaneuva but after much pushing, gesticulation and shouting the game continues and keeper Cerda soon has to make a smart low save.

With the temperatures rising a water-break is taken on 70 minutes. Refreshed, Curico reduce the deficit in the 73^rd minute. Castro’s left-footed cross from right wing, is met by substitute Jaime 15 yards out and his looping header deceives Lanzillota, the ball sailing into the roof of the net with the keeper wrapped against the post. It was probably Jaime’s first touch after coming on.

The game becomes frantic, Carrasco shoots narrowly over from long range for Palestino but Curico keep surging forward and you feel the equaliser is coming. With 8 minutes left on the clock, a pull-back from the bye-line goes to Vera 10 yards out, but he misses his kick and the chance is gone.

With Unido pressing, Palestino have chances on the counter attack. First a dangerous break is thwarted by a tremendous sliding tackle by Lara, then Benitez outpaces the defence but his low cross is just beyond any team-mate.

Espinoza comes off the bench for Curico with 3 minutes to go and almost makes an immediate impact but his dangerous crossed is turned away for a corner. As the clock runs down Curico are happy to go direct, a long throw is launched in the Palestino area, long balls are played down the channels out of defence, and crosses are sent into the danger zone. There is no Tiki-Tika patient possession football, which is quite refreshing to see.

The one time they try and build up from the back, in the 5th minute of added on time, they give away possession and Benitez again shows his speed, bursts past the tired defenders and coolly chips over Cerda as he committed himself, to seal a 4-2 victory and end a tremendously enjoyable contest for a neutral viewer from the UK.

Palestino : Lanzillota – Mesina, Guerrero, Acevedo, Fernandez – Farias, Villanueva ( Carvajal ), Cortes – Carrasco, Jimenez, Benitez

Curico Unido : Cerda – Buss ( Garcia ), Bechtholdt, Lara, Ibacache – Godoy, Corral ( Jaime ), Cortes ( Opazo ), Parra – Castro ( Espinoza ), Harding ( Vera )

Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD0uC0kQbY0