Unión: Newell's took it all as 15 de Abril booed Madelón's side | OneFootball

On a night that began with hope thanks to Estigarribia’s early goal, Leonardo Madelón’s team showed its worst defensive side. Newell’s, clinical and quick to take advantage of the home side’s mistakes, claimed three hugely important points at the 15 de Abril.

The 15 de Abril was dressed for a celebration that ended in silence and murmurs. Unión came in needing points to secure its playoff ticket, but ran into a Newell’s side that, although coming off a rough spell, knew how to expose the weaknesses of a shapeless and unrecognizable Tatengue back line.

Everything seemed to fall into place quickly for the home team. Just 3 minutes in, Marcelo Estigarribia got on the end of a cross from Julián Palacios to make it 1-0. The early goal seemed to foreshadow a rout, but football has those unexpected twists. Unión grew complacent and Newell’s, coming off a hard-earned scoreless draw against San Lorenzo, found life through fortune.

In the 13th minute, after a corner and a fortunate rebound, Matías Mansilla scored an own goal after a VAR review confirmed the equalizer. The match entered strange territory: Unión attacked without order, while La Lepra showed it was capable of more, with a shot from Herrera that crashed off the crossbar. Near the end of the first half, in the 38th minute, another poorly defended corner allowed Jerónimo Russo to pounce on a rebound outside the box and fire home a stunning goal to turn the game around.

In the second half, Madelón looked for answers by bringing on Nicolás Palavecino, while Kudelka strengthened the midfield with Gómez Mattar. Unión pushed forward more out of inertia than clarity, but the final blow came from one of its own mistakes. In the 31st minute, a failed build-up by Maizon Rodriguez left the ball short; “Colo” Ramírez, who had just come on, made no mistake with his first touch and made it 3-1.

Lucas Menossi’s goal in the 42nd minute and the late introduction of Diego Armando Díaz added some suspense to the ending, but the die was already cast. Unión was a shadow of itself in defense and will now fight for qualification at a tough venue: Liniers.

1H 3’: Marcelo Estigarribia (UNI)

1H 13’: Matías Mansilla -og- (NEW)

1H 38’: Jerónimo Russo (NEW)

2H 31’: Juan Ignacio Ramírez (NEW)

2H 42’: Lucas Menossi (UNI)

Unión (2): Matías Mansilla; Lautaro Vargas, Alex Maizon Rodriguez, Juan Pablo Ludueña, Mateo Del Blanco; Julián Palacios, Mauro Pittón, Rafael Profini, Brahian Cuello; Marcelo Estigarribia, Cristian Tarragona.

Coach: Leonardo Madelón.

Substitutions: N. Palavecino for Cuello, L. Menossi for Profini, F. Fragapane for M. Pittón, D. Díaz for Maizon Rodriguez.

Newell’s (3): Josué Reinatti; Armando Méndez, Saúl Salcedo, Nicolás Goitea, Jerónimo Russo; Luca Regiardo, Rodrigo Herrera, Walter Mazzantti, Facundo Guch; Luciano Herrera, Francisco Scarpeccio.

Coach: Frank Kudelka.

Substitutions: J. Gómez Mattar for L. Herrera, M. Ortega for Méndez, F. Noguera for Guch, J.I. Ramírez for Scarpeccio, M. Esponda for Mazzantti.

Referee: Fernando Espinoza.

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