Sporting Cristal rout Chankas CYC 5-0 as Yotún scores twice in Liga 1 Clausura

Five goals, a brace from the captain, and even a jersey handed to a fan in the stands. That's how Sporting Cristal shook off the rough patch it had been going through, routing Chankas CYC 5-0 at the Estadio Alberto Gallardo, in matchday 8 of the 2026 Liga 1 Clausura.

The sky blue side came into the match on the back of two straight losses, and everyone knows how tense things get around the club when results don't go its way. But this time everything went according to plan: a resounding rout, a crowd that showed up despite the doubts, and Yoshimar Yotún stepping up once again when his team needed him most.

The midfielder and sky blue captain scored two of the five goals and ended up being, without question, the standout player of the match. So much so that at the final whistle he took off his jersey and gave it to a fan, a gesture that summed up pretty well how this win felt from the inside: with relief, but also with real affection for a fan base that never stopped showing up.

After the final whistle, Yotún didn't hide how tough the week had been for the squad. He spoke of a group that had been hit hard, but also one that never let up in training.

It's been a complicated week. Honestly, this week hit us hard, but the team is aware, it knows the situation it's in, and the only way to turn this around is by working. We've been putting in the work, and today we put together a really good match, I'd even say one of the best since we've been here, so I'm happy about all of it, about the fans who came out.Yoshimar Yotún

The captain also addressed the crowd's response. With the team going through a rough stretch, it was no secret there were fears of a thin turnout at the Gallardo, but the fans ended up showing up in numbers.

"Honestly we were expecting a different scenario, but the fans showed up, and that means they still believe in us," Yotún added, grateful for the support in the middle of a sensitive time for the club.

A win dedicated to Julio César Uribe

The match came just days after Julio César Uribe, the club's general manager of soccer, was attacked outside the Estadio Alberto Gallardo itself. It was an incident that hit hard inside the locker room, and Yotún didn't let it pass when he spoke to reporters.

The captain was blunt in condemning what happened and dedicated the win to the historic former player and current sky blue official.

Violence is not the way to solve things. (Uribe) is an idol of the club, what am I saying, of the club, he's a national idol, this win is for him and for all the workers who suffer alongside us and see us day in and day out.Yoshimar Yotún

With this rout, Sporting Cristal can breathe a little easier. It doesn't erase the difficulties of the past few weeks in one stroke, but it does leave a different picture: that of a team that answered on the field at just the right moment, with its captain leading both through his goals and his words.