Universidad Católica managed to hold Barcelona SC to a 0-0 draw on the sixth matchday of the second stage in the Liga Pro. The visitors set up in a possession-based 4-3-3 and were the better side for the most part of the game, but Barcelona was dangerous on the counter-attack with a lot of pace on the wings. Barcelona SC had a goal ruled out for offside after VAR interfered early on in the game and also came close to scoring in the last minute of the game, as 16-year-old Allen Obando was just to late to tap in Cifuentes’ cross.
Ratings:
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be a strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, rewatch
- D – Below average in this match
Layan Loor
- Nationality: Ecuadorian
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 23/05/2001
- Club: Universidad Católica
- Career: Club Chicos Malos (Y), Universidad Católica (Y), CD América (L), Universidad Católica
- Position: Left-Back
- Secondary position: Left Midfield & Left-Wing
- Preferred foot: Left
Layan Loor played as a left-back for Universidad Católica in the match against Barcelona SC. With Perlaza, he had a very tough opponent, as the Ecuadorian is physically strong and quick. Only sporadically, Loor came into a 1v1 duel with Perlaza. The left-back did well to hold Perlaza off and Loor showed good acceleration and reaction time to keep up with Perlaza. Layan Loor slightly struggled in the more physical duels, as he has a pretty small frame, but generally held his own against Perlaza. The Ecuadorian defender is pretty vulnerable in aerial duels because of that, too. This did not get exploited that much in this match, and Loor did well to cover Ordóñez’s back when dealing with crosses, making one important interception to prevent his opponent from having a shooting opportunity.
The Ecuadorian left-back tends to follow his opponent around when he’s on the ball, even when his opponent is carrying the ball towards the center of the pitch. Loor is aggressive in defensive duels on both his own and the opponent’s half. He always manages to keep his opponent in front of him without giving away fouls. Loor is able to change his body positioning really quickly and looks very mobile.
When Universidad Católica had settled possession, Layan Loor stayed close to the touchline on his own half. He did not receive the ball that often, as most of their build-up went through the center. When he did receive the ball, Layan Loor did not need many touches to find a teammate in space as he showed good one-touch play. A few times, he played an over the top through pass down the line. Even though he showed a good technique when doing so, he had mixed results. He tried to switch play once in this match, and did not show good crosspassing technique. His crossing technique is pretty good. Loor managed to get his ball into good areas but just failed to reach a teammate.
Layan Loor was very eager to join the attack and showed good stamina in this match. The partnership between him and left-winger Ismael Diaz was not really there this game. Loor made a lot of good overlapping runs, but was rarely found by Diaz who either did not spot him or did not want to pass it to him.
Rating – A2
I think that Layan Loor needs more game time at Universidad Católica before making the step to Belgium.
Kevin Minda
- Nationality: Ecuadorian
- Age: 23
- Date of birth: 21/11/1998
- Club: Universidad Católica
- Career: LDU Quito (Y), LDU Quito, Universidad Católica (L), Universidad Católica
- Position: Defensive Midfield
- Secondary position: Central Defender
- Preferred foot: Right
Kevin Minda played as the defensive midfielder in the 4-3-3 formation of Universidad Católica. He was important in their build-up and did not make many mistakes, but one of his mistakes nearly led to a goal for Barcelona SC. The Ecuadorian usually positions himself between the two central defenders of Universidad Católica in the first phase of the build-up, a few meters in front of the central defenders. Minda recognizes space very well and acts on it immediately. He does well to move into that space and usually only needs one touch to pass it to a teammate. His first-time passing is very good, apart from one situation in which his pass to goalkeeper Cuero was too short. Minda looks really comfortable on the ball and his ball progression mostly comes from passing, but he can also carry the ball forward. Most of his passes are over a short distance.
Defensively, Kevin Minda showed great concentration throughout the match. He was always scanning and adjusting his position accordingly, which was great. He never let his opponent receive the ball in space and cut the passing lanes very well. His defensive positioning and awareness is excellent. Minda is not the tallest midfielder, standing at 1.76 meters with a normal build, but he holds his own in physical duels and because of his good positioning he can stay out of the duels. Minda did not seem the quickest on the turn in one situation, but in another situation he had good speed over long distances. The Ecuadorian defensive midfielder does not make a lot of interceptions in the game, as he disrupts the opponent’s build-up by cutting the passing lanes so well.
Rating – A1
Kevin Minda looks ready to make a move to a better club.
Aron Rodriguez
- Nationality: Ecuadorian
- Age: 23
- Date of birth: 06/08/1999
- Club: Universidad Católica
- Career: Fiorentina ECU (Y), Corinthians ECU, Quevedo, CD Macará (Y), CD Macará, Universidad Católica
- Position: Left-Wing
- Secondary position: Right-Wing
- Preferred foot: Right
Aron Rodriguez was deployed on the right wing this match, despite this position not being his strongest position as he can not cut inside to his stronger right foot. Rodriguez was not that involved in the play, as usual, and was subbed off after around 60 minutes. The winger often provided width for Universidad Católica, from where he created little to no danger for El Trencito Azul. He was at best when he received the ball in space between the lines around the half-space. Rodriguez did well to move in space, had a good first touch under pressure and was capable of getting past his marker with only one touch on the ball. But the problem from this position was that Aron Rodriguez occasionally struggled playing quick combinations down the middle. He usually has good control, but his passing was slightly off which meant that many attacks were broken down because of Rodriguez. His crosspassing was also not great in this match, he did not hit the ball cleanly was generally very sloppy in possession.
Even from the right wing, Rodriguez showed once again that he has very good dribbling ability. The Ecuadorian is very quick over long distances, but also on the first meters. He has good close control while dribbling and has good changes of directions, while he is also able to stay on his feet and evade slide tackles by the opponent. Rodriguez is capable of carrying the ball forward aggressively and quickly makes up a lot of ground. The Ecuadorian struggled to protect the ball in duels with his back towards the goal. The winger looked concentrated tracking back and did well to fulfill his defensive duties.
Rating – A2
Both Layan Loor and Aron Rodriguez are looking really promising, but I feel like they need some more experience in the Ecuadorian league before making the move to Europe and being able to get regular game time over there.