Eryc Castillo: Alianza Lima's answer for slowing down Universitario at Matute

When Pablo Guede decided to push Eryc Castillo further forward as a second striker, something shifted for Alianza Lima. It wasn't just a random tactical tweak: it turned out to be the move that saved the team's offensive season. And now, with the clasico against Universitario just days away, that same adjustment is once again the club's biggest source of hope.

The Ecuadorian hadn't exactly lit up the start of the year. But something clicked when Guede tried him as a second forward against ADT in Tarma. Since that match, Castillo has become Alianza Lima's scoring engine: 14 of the 16 goals the club has scored in the current Liga 1 season have come off his boots.

Guede's gamble paid off, so much so that it's starting to edge into a different kind of problem. In the Clausura, Castillo has scored seven of the team's eleven goals, a level of dependence that exposes how the rest of the forwards simply haven't been showing up with the same punch. It's good news in the short term, but it's also a warning sign: what happens the day the net stops finding Castillo?

So far, that hasn't happened. The 31-year-old forward isn't at his sharpest right now, a notch below his form in the Apertura, but he's kept up an efficiency that any coach would sign off on without hesitation. He proved it again in the draw against Juan Pablo II in Chongoyape, where he once again showed up at just the right moment.

Unfinished business in the clasico

Against Universitario, Castillo has a specific score to settle: he still hasn't scored against the U in a clasico. And the context adds weight to that. Alianza Lima hasn't beaten its fiercest rival in three years, and at Matute the drought stretches even further back: eight years without a home win over Universitario.

Opponents are starting to mark him more tightly, a logical response given his recent output. But Castillo is, above all, a transition player, the kind who thrives on the space others leave behind. And Universitario's defense, over the course of this tournament, has handed out exactly the kind of openings a striker with his finishing ability knows how to exploit.

He also already has recent history in this fixture: he was the man who set up Kevin Quevedo's goal in the 1-1 draw between the two sides at Matute during the 2025 Apertura.

On Saturday, September 12, at 8:00 p.m. (Peru time), Alianza Lima will host Universitario at Matute, with live coverage on L1 Max. And once again, Eryc Castillo stands as the main offensive weapon for a team that needs to break some uncomfortable streaks against its biggest rival.