Nacional, one step closer. Bolognesi? Goodbye.

By: Mauro | April 4th, 2008

(Parque Central, Montevideo, Uruguay)
Last night, Nacional de Montevideo hosted Coronel Bolognesi. I expected a big match from Nacional’s striker Chengue Morales, but it seems that when you do little to mask your strategy, you make it easy for your opponent to predict what you’ll do, even for a small club like Bolognesi. My point is that Nacional abused the lob into their 6′3″ tower of a #9 and basically had very few other options or attacking ideas. That’s why it’s no surprise that there is only one goal separating these two. I did expect more after the 3-0 drubbing of Flamengo in this same stadium but only one goal this time, and it was the only bright spot of the match. A little bit of a downer after Wednesday’s exciting matches.

An interesting note about Coronel Bolognesi, they are one of the few South American clubs, if not the only, that fields Mexican nationals. They are out of this tournament with one match left to play. Even if they win they have no chance of advancing. Good matches for them were the goal-less draw at home to Flamengo and Cienciano giving their players some very good international experience.

This win gives Nacional, 9 points and Bolognesi, 2 points. Cienciano and Flamengo are tied for second with a slight edge on goal difference for Peruvian club. The two tied for second place face each other in Cusco next Wednesday to bring all the teams in his group level on 5 matches a piece.

As always, check here for stats and fixtures. While it’s not the best site, I find this page is the best organized, making it easy to see both the group positions and the past and upcoming matches in the group stage.