Colo Colo beat Peñarol 2-1 after what was a strange match. The Chilean club had a very weak beginning to the match, as Peñarol looked in control of the game throughout the first half, especially as their attackers found each other quite easily. However, after Leonardo Valencia got subbed on in the second half, Colo Colo took over and scored the equalizer quite quickly. They got awarded a penalty in the second half as well and the experienced Paredes converted it comfortably. The Chilean club set up in a 4-3-3 with a possession-based style while Peñarol set up in a 4-4-2 with a slightly more direct approach, often trying to get the wingers involved.
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
Gabriel Suazo
- Nationality: Chilean
- Age: 23
- Date of birth: 09-08-1997
- Club: Colo Colo
- Career: Colo Colo (Y)
- Position: Central Midfield
- Preferred foot: Left
Gabriel Suazo played as a left central midfielder for Colo Colo in the match against Peñarol. The Chilean midfielder sometimes dropped deep to support the back-line in the build-up in possession which allowed the left-back of Colo Colo to push higher up the pitch. This created a numerical advantage for Colo Colo in the build-up. However, Gabriel Suazo mostly played as the most advanced midfielder and liked to receive the passes in these areas more than he did on his own half. When receiving the ball in his own half, he always had an opponent putting pressure in his back and this led to Suazo often playing a first time pass backwards. In the first half, there were some moments where Suazo should have tried to turn his opponent as there was space to do so.
In the second half, he improved a lot. Suazo checked his shoulders before receiving the ball much more and turned forward quite a few times. This meant that he was able to pass it forward more often as well and he showed that he has a good passing technique with his left foot, being able to play powerful passes into the attack with his left foot. Gabriel Suazo set up the attack that led to the 1-1 as well. He chipped it into the attacker, before moving up the pitch himself and receiving the ball again. Suazo then played it into an other attacker to then arrive into the box late to tap the ball into the back of the net. The Chilean midfielder liked to chip the ball towards Paredes who often moved into space between the lines.
Rating – A2
Watched him plenty of times when he played at Chile U23 and was one of the many Chilean players that impressed. I reckon that he is good enough to move to LaLiga2.