Diego Palacios reaches 10 games without squad inclusion at Universidad Católica | OneFootball

Corinthians loanee Diego Palacios has now missed 10 straight matchday squads for Universidad Católica, his longest barren run since arriving in Ecuador. The 27-year-old was again overlooked for Saturday's 5-1 win over Manta in the 26th round at Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito.

His last outing came on six July, when he started for the first time in almost nine months. Católica lost 3-2 to Mushuc Runa that day at the same venue in the 17th round. According to Meu Timao, that remains his most recent appearance.

Since then he has been behind Eddy Mejía and Eric Valencia and was omitted for league games against Leones del Norte, LDU, Cuenca, Barcelona, Guayaquil City, Técnico, Libertad, Macará and Manta. He was also not named as Católica beat Vinotinto 3-2 to reach the Copa do Ecuador quarter-finals.

Asked after the Barcelona de Guayaquil match about Palacios and a possible fitness issue, coach Diego Martínez said the player was physically fine and that his exclusion was a technical choice.

On loan to the Ecuadorian club until the end of 2026, Palacios has featured in 10 of Católica's 32 games this season, totalling 224 minutes without a goal or assist. He remains contracted to Corinthians until December 2027.

Católica sit third on 43 points behind Aucas and Independiente del Valle, securing a direct quarter-final berth. His next chance to end the sequence could come on Wednesday at 17:00 Brasília time, away to Astillero at Estadio Monumental de Guayaquil in the Copa do Ecuador quarter-finals.

Source: Meu Timao

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”