This Sunday it was the historic Colombian league final between Santa Fe and Millonarios but several Colombian players outside of Bogota had action on this Sunday. There were a few notable performances as two Cafeteros managed to get assists in La Liga, here is a rundown of their performances and more.
Duvan Zapata
Duvan Zapata was the only Colombian player that received minutes in the Serie A this weekend as Cristian Zapata, Juan Cuadrado and Carlos Sanchez all did not get playing time. Unfortunately, the 26-year-old striker had a very rough game in Sampdoria’s 1-0 loss to Sassuolo. Zapata played 57 minutes, missed one big chance, was dispossessed twice, and only had 12 accurate passes. The Cali native should still be a consistent starter for Sampdoria and still holds a decent scoring frequency of a goal every 185 minutes.
Danilo Moreno Asprilla
The Medellin native keeps on showing that he should be a starter for Al Feiha in the Saudi Pro League. Asprilla scored the winning goal off the bench in Al Feiha’s surprising 2-1 win against one of the best teams in Saudi Arabia, Al-Hilal. The 28-year-old winger provided a crucial assist off the bench in Al Feiha’s last game and should really be considered to be a starter now.
Juan Camilo Hernandez
“Cucho” was named as the best player in the Spanish second division in November and continues to be an impactful player. The 18-year-old striker played all 90 minutes in Huesca’s 3-0 win vs Lugo and most notably won a penalty. Hernandez did not have the best game as he had a 58-percent pass accuracy, one of six successful dribble attempts, won four of 14 duels and was dispossessed twice. “Cucho” did have a rough performance in this game but it is impressive that he continues to make an impact at his young age.
Johan Mojica
Mojica played all 90 minutes in Girona’s 1-0 win vs Getafe and continues to be one of the more notable players on the club. The 25-year-old provided the assist that led to the winning goal in the game and he continues to be impactful offensively and defensively. The Cali native held a 72-percent pass accuracy, won 10 of 15 duels, had two clearances, four tackles and an interception and a blocked shot each. Girona keeps on exceeding expectations now in seventh place with 23 points in La Liga and Mojica has definitely contributed to that success.
Carlos Bacca
Staying in La Liga, Carlos Bacca made his return to Villarreal’s starting XI after missing a couple of games due to injury. The 31-year-ols striker came back with a bang as he provided the assist that led to Villarreal’s 1-0 win against Getafe way from home. The Colombian international played 87 minutes, had two shots on target, three of three successful dribble attempts, won three of four duels and even had three clearances. Bacca can still be a quality forward in Europe as shown by his performance on Sunday and Villarreal keeps on succeeding, now in sixth place with 24 points.
Luis Orejuela
The 22-year-old fullback made his Eredivisie debut this Sunday in Ajax’s 3-2 win against AZ Alkmaar. Orejuela came on in the second half, played 45 minutes and was very solid in his first official league game with the Dutch giants. The young defender had four tackles, won six of eight duels, had two fouls, one accurate cross, one accurate long ball, 15 accurate passes and an 83-percent pass accuracy. Hopefully, this solid performance can earn the Cali native a few more minutes in the Eredivisie for an Ajax side that is still trailing league-leaders PSV Eindhoven.
