April 8, 2021 – 9:56 p.m.
For:
El País editorial office
After being eliminated from the South American Cup by Tolima, Deportivo Cali has only one goal in this first half of the year: to qualify for the local championship final.
To achieve this, those led by Uruguayan coach Alfredo Arias will have to defeat this Saturday, in Palmaseca, the encumbered Atlético Nacional, which becomes the leader of Colombian football.
Two dates from the close of “all against all”, Cali is in sixth place in the table with 28 points and a goal difference of 6, so a victory at home against the piston will allow them to qualify for the final phase of the tournament with an anticipated date.
How to defeat Nacional?
To cope with Saturday’s crucial game, the biggest strength that sugar producers will have will be that their main players will come to the game rested.
During the week, Arias faced Tolima with a full list of substitutes, which basically means that the team’s goal this week is to defeat the green paisa.
Hernán Lessse, Jorge Arias, Darwin Andrade, Andrés Colorado, Jhon Vásquez, Gastón Rodríguez and Ángelo Rodríguez would be in the game to face a team that will be worn out by their participation in the Copa Libertadores.
“Those who did not play against Tolima were because they were tired and had to recover. And we also managed to give minutes to Vásquez (who came from an injury) and Gastón “, explained the coach of the sugar players.
With a new salary, Cali will be forced to do what he does best to defeat his opponent: he takes the ball from him and uses the explosion of his attackers to win the duels from the side and to reach the goal position.
Once in the area, the strikers must have the same effectiveness shown in the last time of the League, in which they defeated a solid team like Equidad 5-2.
“I think this game is important for Cali to recover his football memory at home. There are many ingredients for the team to come out and play a good game, because if they win, not only will they qualify, but they will lead Nacional, ”said Armando Carrillo, a former footballer and sugar champion in 2005. .
For his part, journalist Marino Millán assured that defeating the gun is not an impossible mission.
“Cali must regain its defensive strength and also generate football. But the most important thing is that the team must have the spirit not to give up more points at home “, said Millán.
Thus, the Greens hope to secure their qualification to dream of the title in the middle of the year.