Martin Cauteruccio was the protagonist in the match this Thursday, June 27, between Sporting Cristal and Atlético Nacional for the second key of the City of Kings Cup 2024. The cast ‘sky blue’ The team started losing the match played at the Alejandro Villanueva stadium, but the team’s top scorer made his presence felt with a great goal to tie the game.
The Colombian team surprised everyone with an early goal from Jhojan Amaya to open the scoring of the contest in Matute. This represented a hard blow for the Peruvians, who since then sought an equalizer, organizing various offensive plays, which were able to complicate Harlen Castillo’s goal.
It was not until the 14th minute that Sporting Cristal found the equalizer at the feet of Cauteruccio. The forward ‘sky blue’ He was perfectly set up with a filtered pass from Adrián Ascues and defined with exquisite quality in front of the opposing goalkeeper, who could do nothing to deflect the ball.
In this way, the team led by Guillermo Farré tied the match at one; however, Atlético Nacional reacted quickly to regain the lead. Kevin Parra He was in charge of marking the 2-1 in favor of the Colombians with a subtle shot that was impossible for Alejandro Duarte to stop. The scoreboard did not move again in the first half.
It is worth mentioning that the City of Kings Cup is a friendly tournament organized by Alianza Lima in preparation for the Clausura Tournament of League 1 2024. The club ‘blue and white’ and Sporting Cristal are the only clubs participating in this competition, while Atlético Nacional (Colombia) and Bolívar (Bolivia) are the guests from abroad.
The La Victoria team already fell last Wednesday in its first round match against its Bolivian rival. ‘intimate’ They were defeated 3-2 and were excluded from the final after that result. Beyond the defeat, the return of Pablo Sabbag stood out, who was injured for several months and today is already at the disposal of Alejandro Restrepo for the challenges that lie ahead.
Before the start of the 2024 season, Sporting Cristal went in search of a ‘9′ hierarchy in the transfer market and trust was placed in Martin Cauteruccio. The Argentine forward is the big bet of the Rímac team and since his arrival he has made every penny they paid for him worth it.
His scoring quota in the Peruvian championship has been impressive. In the Clausura Tournament he scored 16 goals in 12 games disputed, earning praise from locals and strangers. His impressive streak could only be stopped by liver inflammation, which kept him away from the courts on five dates of the local competition.
Likewise, in the previous round of the Copa Libertadores he also made himself noticed. Sporting Cristal faced Always Ready for passage to the group stage of the international tournament and Cauteruccio was up to the task, despite the fact that the ‘celestial’ they didn’t get their ticket.
The Argentine attacker He scored four goals in that series against the Bolivian team (one in the first leg and a hat-trick in the return leg)but his personal feat was not enough, since the contender ‘red-and-white’ won on aggregate thanks to the resounding 6-1 they achieved at home.
In any case, Cauteruccio wants to remain at his best with Sporting Cristal to try to win the Torneo Clausura and secure, at least, a ticket to the playoffs for the national title. It should be remembered that the club ‘sky blue’ He was left empty-handed in the Apertura by just one goal difference with Universitario de Deportes, the winner.
Finally, Glass lost 3-1 to National Athletic in the City of Kings Cup 2024marking the coach’s debut Guillermo Farré. Jhojan Amaya scored for the Colombians before the first minute, Martin Cauteruccio equalized for the ‘celestial‘ at 14′, but Kevin Parra gave the advantage back to the ‘purslane‘ three minutes later. In the second half, Pablo Cepellini sealed the score in the 90+2 minute. The club ‘sky blue‘ will compete for third place in the friendly tournament against Alianza Lima on Sunday, June 30, while the ‘cafetero’ team will play the final against Bolívar.
