This Thursday, seven Colombians featured in the UEFA Europa League and in the first leg of the Apertura 2017 Liga MX Final. Here is a rundown of how those seven players did and also a look at some players that were either on the bench or were unavailable to play.
Inactive Players
Carlos Bacca was unavailable because of an injury in Villareal’s 1-o defeat against Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv. The Colombian international hopes to make a speedy recovery and be available to play this Sunday when his team host FC Barcelona. Villareal topped Group A of the UEFA Europa League with 11 points despite the loss and Bacca contributed with two goals in the group stage. Jhon Cordoba will miss the rest of 2017 and his side FC Koln suffered a 1-0 defeat against Serbian team Red Star Belgrade. Cordoba’s team finished third in Group H with just six points, behind Red Star Belgrade and Arsenal and will now focus on the relegation race in the German Bundesliga.
A pair of Colombian’s featured for Portuguese team Vitoria in its game against Turkish side Konyaspor but Sebastian Rincon was left out of the team sheet. The same was the case in the first leg of the Liga MX final as three Colombian players featured in the game but Francisco Meza and Larry Vasquez were kept on the bench for Tigres UANL.
David Ospina
Colombia’s number one played in all 90 minutes and kept a clean sheet in Arsenal’s 6-0 thrashing against Belarusian team Bate Borisov. Ospina was not worked much as he only had two saves throughout the match and held a 71-percent pass accuracy. Arsenal topped Group H as expected with 13 points and will now look to succeed in the knockout stage with Ospina in between the sticks.
Cristian Zapata
AC Milan suffered a humiliating 2-0 loss against Croatian side Rijeka but Colombian centre-back Cristian Zapata captained his team and had a very solid performance. Zapata was one of the standouts for the Italian team with seven clearances, seven of seven duels won, seven of nine accurate long balls, no fouls committed, an 86-percent pass accuracy with 57 total passes and a key pass. Milan still finished first in D with 11 points and will look to advance deep in the competition with consistent performances by the Colombian defender.
Guillermo Celis & Oscar Estupiñan
As mentioned before, Sebastian Rincon was not present in this game but Guillermo Celis and Oscar Estupiñan did play for Vitoria in its 1-1 draw with Turkish side Konyaspor. Defensive midfielder Celis played the entire 90 minutes and was very good with three clearances, three interceptions, 12 of 19 duels won, an 86-percent pass accuracy with 62 total passes, a key pass and was incredibly fouled eight times in the game.
Estupiñan only featured in 16 minutes off the bench and in those few minutes managed to win two of four duels. Vitoria SC finished dead last in Group I with just three points and will now focus on the Portuguese League, where they are currently seventh with 20 points.
Liga MX Final
The Liga MX Apertura 2017 final ended in a very intense 1-1 draw between Tigres UANL and Monterrey. Aviles Hurtado, Stefan Medina and Dorlan Pabon all featured in Monterrey’s starting XI while Francisco Meza and Larry Vasquez sat on the bench for Tigres UANL in the first leg of the Liga MX final. Aviles Hurtado had a very disappointing performance, he played in 69 minutes, only held a 60-percent pass accuracy and was inclusively dispossessed three times. In contrast to Hurtado, his countryman Dorlan Pabon was one of the best players on the pitch for Monterrey. Pabon played the entire game, had an assist, two shots on target, four key passes and even had two interceptions as well.
Stefan Medina was very solid in the back for Los Rayados as he played the entire 90 minutes, had three interceptions and tackles each and even had three of four successful dribble attempts. Mexican defender Hugo Ayala received a red card for Tigres UANL and that will surely mean that Francisco Meza will start in the second leg of the Liga MX final this Sunday.
