Cerro Porteño lost their home match against General Díaz 0-1, after they dominated throughout the game but failed to create chances. They set up in a 4-2-4/4-2-3-1 with Sergio Díaz often dropping deeper to play as a 10. General Díaz set up in a 4-2-3-1 with Bareiro as a sole striker. He struggled to hold up play at times due to bad decision-making which made it hard for General Díaz to keep in possession. They created a few chances and scored one of them in the 73th minute. In the end it was an undeserved win for General Díaz a week prior to their 5-1 loss against Libertad.
Ratings
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, rewatch
- D – Below average in this match
Pablo Meza
- Nationality: Paraguayan
- Age: 23
- Date of birth: 29-01-1997
- Club: Club General Díaz de Luque
- Career: Club General Díaz de Luque (Y), Club General Díaz de Luque, Deportes Tolima, Club General Díaz de Luque
- Position: central defender
- Preferred foot: right
Pablo Meza played as a left central defender in the match against Cerro Porteño. On the ball, he looked very calm and dominant as he felt comfortable to dribble it out from the back, even when he got put under pressure. He had a good passing technique and found his teammates often. Meza chose for the long pass a few times as well, and half of those passes were accurate, while the other half were loose passes that ended nowhere near the target.
In defence, he showed once again that he is not the most agile defender and that agile players can turn him with ease, such as Sergio Díaz in this match. He stepped out of the defensive line confidently and reacted well when his direct opponent had a loose touch. He cut the passing lane whenever someone made a run in between Barreto and Meza and did this very well as he reacted quickly to passes and could intercept those passes with a good slide tackle. He did well to win aerial duels, as he timed his jump quite well.
Pablo Meza showed good strength in the physical duels, while also holding his own when defending with space in his back as he had decent pace and acceleration. He certainly is not the most athletic defender, but he manages to hold his own in this league and I expect him to become one of the better centre-backs in this league.
Rating – B1
However, I don’t think that he will be able to do that well at a higher level.
Sergio Bareiro
- Nationality: Paraguayan
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 04-11-1998
- Club: Club General Díaz de Luque
- Career: Club General Díaz de Luque (Y), Huachipato FC, Club General Díaz de Luque
- Position: striker
- Preferred foot: right
Sergio Bareiro played as a sole striker in a match where Cerro Porteño dominated possession and Bareiro got isolated often. He was coaching his teammates when they needed to put pressure and worked hard in the first half, while being a bit more lazy in the second half. He could have done better when he needed to hold up play at times – either because of a lack of ball control or a lack of strength. He lacked smartness in these situations as well, as if he kept more calm, he would have just kept possession and be able to play it backwards to gain control over the game.
He often lost a duel against Amorebieta because he did not open up to receive the ball and forgot to use his body properly, as he failed to put his body between the ball and the opponent. However, he had moments where he would make a fake run between the two central defenders to eventually time his run between the right-back and RCB to perfection. In one occasion, this led to a big chance for Bareiro who failed to put it away, even though he held off the experienced Amorebieta very well.
Sergio Bareiro proved once again to have good pace and acceleration. He scored the winner in the end, making a good run and finishing the chance off comfortably. In the end, it was a good performance by Bareiro but he could have done even better.
Rating – A1
I think that he could make a step up domestically.
Matías Barreto
- Nationality: Paraguayan
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 20-07-2000
- Club: Club General Díaz de Luque
- Career: Club General Díaz de Luque (Y)
- Position: right-back
- Preferred foot: right
Matías Barreto played as a right-back in the match against Cerro Porteño. He predominantly was found in his own half and did not contribute to the attack, as he was seemingly uncomfortable with the ball on his feet and liked to get rid off it as soon as possible. He did not look confident on the ball and nearly always played a long pass, which was inaccurate quite often. His technique was below average and I doubt he can improve this that much throughout his career.
In defence, he did not cover the run well whenever an opponent tried to make a run in behind between Meza and Barreto in. Pablo Meza was tasked to cut the passing lane when the pass came from Cerro Porteño’s right wing, while Barreto needed to cover his back. However, Barreto was one or two meters in front of the defensive line quite often which made it impossible for him to cover the runs, and even though it did not lead to any problems, he should cover these runs better.
Barreto was very aggressive in the 1v1 duels but still got dribbled past quite easily, as he timed his tackle too early or too late at times and he did not react that quickly to the agility of Sergio Díaz. His physical ability was questionable as well, as he did not look that strong in the duels.
Rating – C
I don’t even think that he will become a strong player for General Diaz.
Target Scouting 