Unión and their «two-halves syndrome»: fading after half-time | OneFootball

Unión’s recent defeat to Estudiantes de La Plata was not an isolated result, but rather confirmation of a trend that highlights its inconsistency in the tournament: the huge difference in performance between the first and second halves of matches. Leonardo Madelón’s team, which had taken the lead thanks to a goal from Marcelo Estigarribia, once again showed its lack of consistency after the break and ended up empty-handed following goals by Fabricio Pérez and Mikel Amondaraín.

A solid start: numbers of a contender

When only the first 45 minutes are analyzed, Unión ranks as one of the standout teams in the championship. The statistics are clear and reflect a solid, organized side with high efficiency:

In this early-game scenario, the “Tatengue” looks like a formidable opponent that is hard to break down. However, the picture changes drastically after coming out of the locker room.

The collapse in the second halves

The physical or mental deficit appears in the second halves, where the team drops to 24th place in the comparative table for second halves. At this stage, its effectiveness plummets to 30.56%, the result of just 11 points earned.

Its defensive fragility becomes evident late in games: while it conceded only 2 goals in the first halves, it allowed 12 in the second. With just two wins, five draws, and five losses in the final periods, Madelón’s structure loses its composure and fails to hold onto the results it builds early on.

A burden holding back its objective

What happened in La Plata is a summary of a recurring flaw. Unión dominates, takes the initiative, and strikes first, but lacks the ability to close out matches. This duality—going from solidity to confusion in a matter of minutes—is what today prevents it from making the leap in a highly competitive tournament.

The task still pending for the coaching staff is clear: to find the balance so that the competitive version shown at the start can last until the final whistle. Until it manages to unify its “two faces,” the team will keep paying a high price for its lack of consistency.

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