By Miguel Rapetti
An impressive goal from midfielder Maximiliano Araujo this Sunday led to a 3-1 victory for Uruguay against its counterpart from Panama in a clash that, although solid and forceful for the Charrúas, ended up taking place in the final minutes of the match.
Araujo ended up scoring the opening goal in the 15th minute after a broad dominance by Uruguay from the beginning of the match, in an advantage that could have even been greater had it not been for the reaction of Panama’s goalkeeper, Orlando Mosquera.
But before the rival goal was stalked, the first fell through the Deportivo Toluca midfielder in the Liga MX, who with a left-footed shot from outside the area ended up beating Mosquera to put Uruguay ahead 1-0.
Despite Uruguay’s dominance throughout the match, completely nullifying the Panamanian attack, it was not until the 85th minute of the second half where they were able to score the second goal of the match in a play that seemed inconsequential but was ultimately resolved by Liverpool’s scorer. , Darwin Núñez.
A long ball tried to be cleared by the Panamanians but the rebound ended up at the feet of Núñez, who with a volley shook the nets and made it 2-0 that seemed final.
However, in the aggregate Matías Viña, after a header cross, put the Celeste up 3-0, consolidating the dominance that those led by Marcelo Bielsa had shown on the field.
Despite the defensive siege, a distraction at 90+4 resulted in the goal of honor for Panama through Michael Murillo, who with his left foot and with a placed shot sealed a great goal for the Central Americans.
Now it will be next June 27 when both Uruguay and Panama return to action for the second day of Group C of the Copa América, in which they will face Bolivia and the United States respectively.
Watch Maximiliano Araújo’s great goal here:
Keep reading:
- The great goal of the Copa América? Christian Pulisic’s missile led USA’s victory against Bolivia
- Laugh so as not to cry: fans share a wave of memes after Edson Álvarez’s injury in the Copa América
- “God knows what he takes away, puts in and does”: Edson Álvarez speaks out after injury in Copa América