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
Facundo Pellistri
- Nationality: Uruguayan
- Age: 18
- Date of birth: 20-12-2001
- Club: Peñarol
- Career: Peñarol (Y)
- Position: Right Wing
- Preferred foot: Right
Facundo Pellistri played as a right midfielder in the majority of the match against Colo Colo, but also moved to the left in some moments of the match, swapping sides with Facundo Torres. The young Uruguayan attacker moved higher up the pitch in possession and played as a right winger in possession. When he got the ball while sticking close to the sideline, he looked really predictable as he always went on the outside. The 18-year-old is still young, but he should add variation to his game when playing on the right wing. However, he has good acceleration but this did not mean that he got past his opponent as the opponent’s left-back blocked his crosses.
The 18-year-old right winger scored an easy rebound in the first half after Agustin Alvarez Martinez missed a big chance. Pellistri did well to anticipate in this situation as he was ready to score the rebound. The winger was more creative when playing on the left, as he could cut inside to find his teammates with through passes or possibly shoot on goal, which he did not do in this match. Also, this would work better as the full-backs liked to make overlapping runs and did not make that many underlapping runs. It is clear that the Uruguayan has good technique, but it sometimes looks like he can only sprint in straight lines and is not able to change directions that much. Lastly, he hardly ever used his weaker left foot.
In defence, he did well to track back but he mostly covered air instead of actually trying to recover possession or block the crosses of the left-back.
Rating – A2
This is the second time that I have watched him and I don’t get the hype around him. It is clear that he has a good technique, but he is very much a lightweight and too predictable. Also, as mentioned above, it looks like he can only sprint in straight lines and not change directions that much. He definitely is not worth around 10M and he’s not ready for the top 5 leagues. However, he could definitely make a step up in his career at some point which would validate an A2 rating.
I think that it would be better for his career to focus on playing on the left wing as he would be the most dangerous playing in the half-spaces on the left and he would add creativity from this position. His next destination should probably be the MLS, as the league is not that physical and it could be a good stepping stone to Europe.
Agustín Álvarez Martínez
- Nationality: Uruguayan
- Age: 19
- Date of birth: 20-04-2001
- Club: Peñarol
- Career: Peñarol (Y)
- Position: Striker
- Secondary position: Left Wing
- Preferred foot: Right
Agustin Alvarez Martinez played as the right striker in this match and formed a partnership in attack with David Terans. The Uruguayan striker proved to have good close control in the tight spaces and he has a decent first touch, also being able to play a first touch pass with the outside of his boot. He linked up well with David Terans but his passes did not always come off as he wanted. However, he had good variation between making a run in behind or dropping deep and this worked well in this match, especially as he played next to David Terans who did the same.
The 19-year-old missed a big chance in the first half after he spotted the space in behind well, but was lucky that the rebound was scored by Facundo Pellistri. The striker showed that he has a good technique. His physical ability was alright but he sometimes tried to be too smart in aerial duels – trying to lean into his opponent to make sure that he would not get to the ball. The striker had a rather quiet second half against Colo Colo but this could be explained as it was only his second match for the first team of Peñarol.
Rating – A2
Not all of his actions were good and he had a worse second half, but he showed glimpses of talent. Agustin Alvarez Martinez should focus on becoming a regular starter at Peñarol, but given this performance, that will not be a very hard task for the Uruguayan striker.
Facundo Torres
- Nationality: Uruguayan
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 13-04-2000
- Club: Peñarol
- Career: Peñarol (Y)
- Position: Second Striker
- Secondary position: Left Wing & Striker
- Preferred foot: Left
Facundo Torres played as a left midfielder in the match against Colo Colo, but also moved to the right side of the pitch in some situations, swapping sides with Facundo Pellistri. The winger made some good runs between the right-back and right central defender and moved into space behind the back-line. Facundo Torres often tried to cross the ball into the box and got his crosses into good areas, showing a good kicking technique which he also showed with a good shot from range, where he should probably have played a through pass to one of the strikers. He often moved into the half-space and got into space between the lines from this position.
The Uruguayan attacker has a good technique and did not hesitate to use the outside of his boot, often preventing himself from using his weaker right foot. Also, he has good acceleration and pace and possesses a lot of flair in his playing style. Facundo Torres did well to open up the passing lane for the left-back Piquerez at the right time as well. The 20-year-old did not look that strong in the physical duels. However, he occasionally did well to draw fouls as he lost his balance quite quickly in the duels when he received the ball with an opponent in his back.
Rating – A2
Facundo Torres had a good performance and I am looking forward to seeing him play again. I think that he could do well from the right wing as well and that it would be a good idea to swap sides with Facundo Pellistri.
Target Scouting 