Nacional falls 2-0 to Llaneros as González stands by seven-change lineup

Seven changes. That was the hand Lucas González played for the match in Villavicencio, and it backfired. Nacional fell 2-0 to Llaneros in matchday 11, missing the chance to close the gap on leader América, which remains firmly atop the standings.

The coach shuffled his goalkeeper, defense and attack all at once, and the team never quite found its footing on the road. Llaneros took advantage of every gap Nacional left open and cruised to the three points without much trouble.

After the match, the questions for González were pointed: doesn't that much rotation eventually take its toll? The coach held nothing back and explained why he keeps pushing the idea, even though the results haven't backed him up yet.

If I remember correctly, we've played eight matches, we're not even halfway through the season yet, unlike other teams. And for us, rotation isn't an end in itself, we don't rotate just to rotate, it's a means to try to get players to arrive fresher for the next match and to minimize the risk of injuries as much as possible. As matches go by and we feel there are guys carrying fatigue and wear, we want to avoid what happened to AlfredoLucas González

The mention of Alfredo isn't a minor detail in his explanation, it's the underlying reason González gives for why he'd rather spread minutes around before injuries show up, even if that means losing continuity in the starting eleven.

James came on, but it wasn't enough

In the second half, James Rodríguez entered looking to change the tone of the match. It wasn't enough. Llaneros, far from sitting back, waited to counter and found the second goal to seal the result.

González was self-critical about what he saw in the first half and explained why he decided to make changes so quickly at the break.

I think we played two different matches. In the first half we were left very exposed whenever we lost the ball in their territory, and that's how the goals came, along with a couple of chances for them too. It's something we need to improve, that's why we went straight for quick changes at halftimeLucas González

With this loss, Nacional remains third with 18 points, though it still has two matches in hand. The gap to leader América now stands at three points. The schedule gives González's side room to make up ground, but it also makes clear that the rotation debate will keep coming up as long as the results don't fall into place.