Cusco FC lost 3-2 to Apertura winners Universitario and finished 15th

Monday, the 19th of October 2020, 2 pm local time (7 pm UTC), San Marcos Stadium (neutral ground), Lima, Peru, 19th (last) round of the Peruvian Apertura (Stage 1 of Liga 1).
After a winless run including two draws since Ramacciotti came back as head coach, Cusco FC registered its first defeat with Ramacciotti. Universitario de Deportes, leader and already winner of Apertura long before the game started, had the upper hand in a match which they controlled clearly and they had 3-0 after less than an hour of play, Urruti scoring a brace (32', 49') and assisting Hohberg for the third goal (57'). Things could have gone much worse for Cusco FC, if it wasn't the stupid protests of Hohberg for the penalty given by referee Espinoza to Cusco FC. Initially, Hohberg was shown the yellow card and then the red card (63'). Down in 10 men and with the score already 3-1, as the penalty was transformed by Rivera (62'), Universitario had to preserve the win until the end, which they succeeded. Cusco FC tried hard, Ramacciotti sent in all the possible attacking players, but it was also due to a very late penalty that they scored again, this time by Carando (90'+6'), not long before the final whistle.

José Daniel Rivera (in black) missed the only goal opportunity for Cusco FC in the first half (13'). Source: Cusco FC Facebook page

Despite the rather tight score, the difference between the two teams, at least as long as they play 11 vs 11, was huge. Cusco FC played poorly, especially the defence was terrible. In the attack, they had only one chance during the first half, missed by Rivera (13'), and their next chance, missed by Carando (58'), emerged when the score was already 3-0. They started to play a bit more aggressively, but still without any real danger for the opponent, after Hohberg was sent off and Universitario gave up any attacks and concentrated on the defence. Even so, Cusco FC were only capable of scoring out of penalty shoot-outs. Carlos Ramacciotti needs to find solutions both in the defence and in the attack, otherwise the Clausura (Stage 2) will be a very difficult one, as the fight to avoid relegation intensifies. The gap between Cusco FC and the teams below the relegation line is only four points.
Universitario: Carvallo - Corzo, Velarde, Quina, Valverde (Santillán 46') - Barreto, Alfageme, Guarderas (Barco 69') - Urruti (Quintero 69'), Succar (Chávez 90'+2'), Hohberg. Head coach: Ángel Comizzo.
Cusco: Gómez - Paniagua, Saravia, Delgado (Pósito 66'), Céspedes (Palacios 66') - Atoche (Boló 80'), Valenzuela - Carranza, Ramúa, Rivera - Carando. Head coach: Carlos Ramacciotti.
Referee: Michael Espinoza.
Yellow cards: Valverde 11', Guarderas 60', Hohberg 61', Corzo 90'+4' - Atoche 55', Palacios 83'.
Red card: Hohberg 63'.
Universitario finished first the Apertura (Stage 1) and are therefore qualified for the play-offs, almost surely for the play-off finals. They are also qualified for the next year Copa Libertadores.
On the other hand, Cusco FC finished the Apertura in 15th place, 7 points away from the last position (8th) which gives rights to participation in a continental competition (Copa Sudamericana) and only 4 points above the relegation line, represented by the 18th place. This is much worse than anyone expected.
In the second stage (Clausura), teams will be drawn into two groups of 10, each playing each other once, a total of only 9 games. The winners of the two groups will play the Clausura (Stage 2) finals. The Clausura winners, together with the Apertura winners (Universitario) and the two best classified teams in the aggregate table (if others than the two tournament winners) will play the play-offs in December 2020.
Full results of the last round of Apertura (Stage 1) and final Apertura table:

Round 19 (16-19 October 2020)

Universidad de San Martín – Academia Cantolao 2-1

Deportivo Municipal – Melgar 1-2

Alianza Universidad – Sport Boys 0-1

Cienciano – Alianza Lima 2-1

Binacional – Sporting Cristal 3-6

Deportivo Llacuabamba – Universidad César Vallejo 2-3

Ayacucho – Carlos Stein 3-0

Universitario – Cusco FC 3-2

Atlético Grau – UTC 0-0

Carlos A. Mannucci – Sport Huancayo 0-1

                                                            Apertura (Stage 1) final table

 

1	Universitario de Deportes	19	13	4	2	38-18	42	[1] Qualified for the play-offs
2	Sport Huancayo	19	10	5	4	23-15	35
3	Sporting Cristal	19	9	6	4	38-23	33
4	Universidad César Vallejo	19	8	9	2	25-16	33
5	Carlos A. Mannucci	19	7	8	4	28-22	29
6	UTC	19	7	8	4	24-20	29
7	Alianza Universidad	19	8	5	6	21-17	29
8	FBC Melgar	19	7	7	5	23-20	28
9	Ayacucho FC	19	7	6	6	28-21	27
10	Cienciano	19	8	3	8	27-23	27
11	Binacional	19	6	5	8	24-29	23
12	Alianza Lima	19	5	7	7	19-20	22
13	Academia Cantolao	19	6	4	9	21-33	22
14	Deportivo Municipal	19	4	9	6	20-24	21
15	Cusco FC	19	5	6	8	26-31	21
16	Universidad San Martín	19	5	6	8	20-27	21
17	Sport Boys	19	5	5	9	24-33	19	[1]
18	Carlos Stein	19	4	6	9	18-28	17	[1] Relegation to Segunda División
19	Atlético Grau	19	3	8	8	17-27	17	Relegation to Segunda División
20	Deportivo Llacuabamba	19	2	5	12	25-42	11	Relegation to Segunda División

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[1] Universitario de Deportes, Carlos Stein and Sport Boys have 1 point deducted for financial irregularities.