Peru hosted Argentina last night in Lima. It ended 2-2 and it was one of Argentina’s worst matches since possibly the loss to Ecuador in Buenos Aires. Yet, they came away with a win. As Higuains goal proved, Argentina do not need to have the ball to win. Give their forwards any chance at goal and they’ll score it. Peru did not let their dominant performance leave so easily as they won a penalty in the 83rd minute. Cueva scored it and tied it up at 2-2. As a Peruvian, here are my player ratings.
Pedro Gallese (8) – While Peru dominated the second half. Argentina had a few opportunities in the first half including 2 free kicks that were on target. Both were parried away by Gallese and had a few other saves in the first half. If Peru had conceded the 2nd goal in the first half, the draw probably wouldn’t have happened.
Aldo Corzo (9) – Aldo Corzo isn’t the fastest player or a big name, but he has a lot of heart for the National Team and last night he showed that. He was a wall defensively and had Di Maria under control the entire game. Offensively he didn’t do too badly either, but the rating mainly goes towards his defensive efforts.
Alberto Rodriguez (7) – Alberto Rodriguez was not called up in September due to him being club less. He recently signed for Melgar only a few days before the call up, and he got lucky to have been called up. Due to his lack of playing time, it was a bit of a risk to play him. He did really well in the second half but his rating is lowered a bit due to a poor tackle on Funes Mori that led to Argentina’s first goal.
Christian Ramos (8) – Christian Ramos was dominant in the air, a wall at the back and showed some good tackles throughout the game. He deserves his 8 rating due to his full defensive efforts.
Miguel Trauco (9) – Not as good defensively as Aldo Corzo but still did really well on the defensive front. However he was a constant danger on the ball and got the assist for Paolo Guerrero’s first goal. It was a pass that showed some great vision on his part and was a great pass. One of the players of the match
Renato Tapia (8) – Renato Tapia was the heart of the midfield in the match, as Peru had the midfield under control. Tapia against Argentina showed a major improvement than in the match against Ecuador (despite scoring in that one)
Yoshimar Yotun (7.5) – Similar to Renato Tapia, some of his tackles in the match were fantastic. However his yellow drops his score to a 7.5 for me.
Cristian Benavente (5) – Cristian Benavente was taken off due to a poor first half. He misplaced his shots and a lot of his passes. Overall he slowed down the attack and was Peru’s weak link last night.
Christian Cueva (8) – Christian Cueva is in my opinion the most consistent Peruvian player at this moment. Last night wasn’t the best game he’s ever had but he comfortably scored his penalty kick and looked competent throughout. While he was definitely affecting the game in play, he wasn’t as visible as some of the others. He was good but he wasn’t stand out like he was in the Copa America and was against Ecuador.
Edison Flores (6) – Similar to Cristian Benavente, he was poor. He was a little better as he was more in the game than Benavente but he took too long to shoot and wasted way too many chances. Another player who slowed down attack for La Blanquiroja.
Paolo Guerrero (10) – Best performance from Paolo Guerrero in years for the National Team. He made Otamendi and Funes Mori suffer throughout the entire second half, he played so well that Fox Sports analysts compared him to Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, claiming that if Guerrero was Argentinian, he’d be playing for Barcelona. He showed an enormous level last night and showed what he’s really capable of. He’s been a very inconsistent player in the last couple years but in his prime he’s a nightmare for defenders.
Substitutes
Beto Da Silva (9) – He hasn’t played much lately for Jong PSV due to injury but he came in as a sub and was probably the second best attacking player after Paolo Guerrero. He created a lot of build up play, showed a lot of agility and had his fair share of shots as well. He may have earned a spot in the lineup for Tuesdays match against Chile
Raul Ruidiaz (6) – He was pretty invisible for most of the second half when he came on. He had some opportunities but squandered them. Its harsh to say he was slowing down the offence though because he didn’t see the ball as often as some of the other attackers.
Carlos Lobaton also came on but he didn’t have any time to impact the game.
Futbol Talk 