No cutting edge, no joy: Unión dominated, lost 2-0 to Gimnasia in Mendoza | OneFootball

El Tatengue paid dearly for its lack of finishing at the Víctor Legrotaglie. Two shots off the woodwork, a standout performance by goalkeeper Rigamonti, and a brace from Agustín Módica the first after a VAR review sealed Madelón’s team’s defeat on matchday three of the Clausura Tournament.

There are matches explained solely by efficiency in both boxes, and the one Unión played this weekend in Mendoza was a clear example. Despite creating the clearest chances and showing superior play for much of the first half, the Tatengue ended up stumbling to a 2-0 defeat against Gimnasia de Mendoza at the Víctor Antonio Legrotaglie stadium.

The side managed by Leonardo Madelón, coming off a 2-2 draw against Platense in Vicente López, took the field with an ambitious approach. For the first 25 minutes, the visitors controlled the ball and pinned back their opponent. Just 6 minutes in came the first big chance: a precise cross from Ignacio Malcorra found Misael Aguirre’s head, but his effort crashed violently off the post.

The chances to open the scoring kept coming. Aguirre, Malcorra, and Cristian Tarragona all ran into an impenetrable wall: the home goalkeeper, César Rigamonti, who kept Gimnasia alive during its worst spell. At the other end, Matías Mansilla also made key interventions to deny Lencioni in the few counterattacks by the Mendoza side.

VAR and the psychological blow

Just when the match seemed to be leveling out and 0-0 looked set to stand at halftime, controversy arrived. In the 47th minute of the first half, referee Juan Pablo Loustau was called by VAR to review a possible handball by Lucas Menossi inside the box. After looking at the images on the monitor, he awarded the penalty. Agustín Módica made no mistake from the spot and made it 1-0 for the Mendoza Lobo.

The start of the second half was again cruel to the Santa Fe side. One minute in, Malcorra struck a superb free kick that once again came back off the post. The football saying that “the goals you don’t score at one end, you suffer at the other” proved absolutely true four minutes later: in the 5th minute of the second half, Módica struck again to make it 2-0 and deliver a crushing blow to the Tatengue’s morale.

Madelón went to his bench looking for answers with the introductions of Marcelo Estigarribia, Eric Ramírez, and Brahian Cuello, but the team lost the sharpness it had shown in the first half. Unión became unbalanced, piled up mistakes at the back, and Mansilla even had a mishap that nearly cost them a third goal.

Focus on bouncing back

After this tough defeat and leaving Mendoza empty-handed, the Rojiblanco needs to turn the page quickly and make itself strong at home.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.