Junior and Millonarios had their debut in the A quadrangular of Liga BetPlay 2024-I, but despite the expectations of being two of the favorites in their area, the game ended up being with few goal options, but the local team managed to play better, taking the 2-1 victory.
Throughout the first half the game was close, but Junior was the one who tried to put more pressure on Brayan Castrillón, although the ambassador had one or another approach with Leonardo Castro and Jhoan Hernández.
Everything seemed like equality was going to persist heading into the break, but the first goal came in the 37th minute when scorer Carlos Bacca appeared, who took advantage of an assist from Castrillón to make it 1-0 with a strong shot that knocked down Álvaro Montero.
In the second half, Junior came out determined to go for the second goal that would give them peace of mind and, from the start, Carlos Bacca was the one who generated one of the most dangerous plays with a shot that Montero took well from the corner kick.
Millonarios could not be found to shake themselves and the team led by Arturo Reyes little by little felt more comfortable on the field of play.
Around the 65th minute came a hard blow for Millonarios, as Larry Vásquez gave Carlos Bacca a penalty and the forward did not hesitate to place the ball to be the one to increase the difference.
Bacca shot towards the right side and Álvaro Montero was close to saving the ball, but the force was not enough to avoid the second against.
Alberto Gamero made some adjustments to his roster after the entry of Jhon Largacha and Beckham David Castro, but the contribution was minimal, since Millonarios had many deficiencies on the defensive side.
The ambassador seemed like another team and got lost on the field, while Junior held on to his difference from his goal, but after the expulsion of Emanuel Olivera, Millonarios took a breather and reached injury time.
Through a penalty in the 87th minute, Leonardo Castro tightened the score and excited Millonarios with at least a draw that could be a great reward for the ambassador after the weak game.
Even though Millonarios was motivated, Junior positioned himself in the defensive zone and managed to resist the approaches, finally managing to win a match that ended up being very enduring for the shark.
With this result, Junior is the leader of quadrangular A with three points along with Deportivo Pereira who also beat Bucaramanga early.
