Players from Nacional celebrate their goals against Penarol
In front of nearly 60,000 spectators on Wednesday night at the Centenario stadium in Montevideo, Nacional defeated Penarol, their bitter rivals, 2-0. As a consequence, Nacional and Penarol were able to play off in two legs to decide who would win the 2009–10 Uruguayan first-division championship.
Striker Santiago Garcia scored twice for Los Tricolores, scoring in the 13th and 59th minutes.
Penarol got off to a great start as they chose an attacking stance to stun Nacional with an early goal, which would have made them the Uruguayan champions.
However, Nacional took the lead when Garcia chest-controlled a right-wing cross in the 13th minute and pushed the ball into the goal.
After scoring, the reigning champions regained their composure and attempted to play in Penarol’s end while attempting to score a second goal.
As the half went on, Penarol started to apply the type of pressure to Nacional that allowed them to finish the Clausura title unbeaten, and they nearly tied the score when Martin Martinuccio’s header hit the crossbar.
Following the interval, the game picked up, with both teams producing chances to score goals. When a Nacional defender obstructed Penarol captain Antonio Pacheco in the area, play should have continued, but referee Jorge Larrionda waved play on.
Every time Nacional advanced, they appeared threatening, so it was appropriate when Garcia increased their lead in the 59th minute by finding space inside the penalty area and shooting the ball past Sebastian Sosa, the goalkeeper for Penarol.
Nacional came closer to further expanding their lead than Penarol did, but they were unable to replicate their thrilling attacking style from the Clausura.
Nacional’s victory put Penarol into a two-game playoff series, with the first leg set for Saturday.
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