Matías Arezo snaps goal drought with a brace as Peñarol thrash Danubio 4-0

Three games without a goal can weigh heavily on a forward, even one playing for a team that's winning comfortably. That weight lifted off Matías Arezo this Saturday at Jardines del Hipódromo, where Peñarol rolled over Danubio with a resounding 4-0 in matchday five of the Torneo Clausura.

The Carbonero forward scored a brace, pushing his tally to 13 goals on the season (11 in the Uruguayan Championship and two in the CONMEBOL Libertadores). Those numbers already mark him as a key piece of the yellow and black attack, though the last few matches had been tougher than usual for him in front of goal.

Before this 4-0 win, Arezo had gone three straight Clausura matches without scoring: a 2-1 win over Central Español, a 0-0 draw against Deportivo Maldonado and a 0-1 loss in the derby against Nacional. Nothing dramatic for a team that was still picking up points, but for a striker that kind of drought always stings a bit more than it looks from the outside.

After the match, Arezo spoke to the AUF TV broadcast and didn't hide the fact that the first half felt long, with chances that just wouldn't go in.

Getting back to scoring was really important. I finished the first half a bit frustrated because the ball wasn't going in, the chances were there but I felt like I needed to give a little more. In the second half the goals came. It was a tough week where we had to push through. The team worked really well today to get a good win.Matías Arezo

A release with his own signature

What's interesting is how the forward himself tells it: the frustration of the first half, the sense that something was missing, and then the explosion in the second half. That pattern, a forward who keeps pushing until the goal finally comes, tends to be exactly what wins over a squad during tough stretches like the one Peñarol admitted going through.

Because this isn't just about the brace. A 4-0 win on the road, with enough of a cushion to manage the result without any scares, is the kind of outcome that settles the mood of any squad before the tournament gets more demanding. And for Arezo personally, snapping a three-game scoreless run is always good news, especially when it comes with a brace instead of a single goal.

Peñarol banks a clear win that lets them breathe after the stumble against Nacional, and Arezo is back on the radar as the offensive reference for a team that, in his own words, had to grind through a difficult week before finding this version of itself on the field.