Talleres beats Union Santa Fe 2-1 at the Kempes behind Alvarez strike

A shot from outside the box that flew into the top corner changed the complexion of the game, and that image of Agustin Alvarez in the 38th minute ended up being the foundation of a 2-1 win for Talleres de Cordoba over Union Santa Fe at the Mario Alberto Kempes stadium, in Argentina's Primera Division.

The home side dominated from start to finish, with more possession, more shots and more clear-cut chances, but the scoreboard took a while to reflect it. The opener finally came in the 38th minute, with Alvarez finishing right-footed from outside the area after an assist from Federico Fattori. Before that there had been an intense first half, with Talleres piling up corners (three in the first twenty minutes alone) and Union offering some answers down the left, though without seriously troubling the opposing goal.

In the second half, Talleres kept pushing and found the second goal in the 74th minute: Valentin Depietri, inside the box, finished into the middle of the goal off an assist from Alvarez himself, who turned provider after having been the scorer. At 2-0 the game looked settled, but Union Santa Fe didn't give up and pulled one back in the 89th minute, when Eric Ramirez, who had come on from the bench, headed home at the far post from a Bruno Pitton cross to make it a final 2-1. There was no time left for any more drama, and the match wrapped up in the 94th minute.

The numbers behind the dominance

The stats confirm what was seen on the field: Talleres controlled the ball and generated more offensive volume, though Union Santa Fe was more efficient in the most dangerous situations.

According to our xG estimate calculated from the match's shots, Talleres generated 2.38 expected goals against 1.23 for Union Santa Fe, a gap that backs up the final result even if it doesn't line up exactly with it: the home side produced more than it ultimately converted.

Our preview had given Talleres a 35% chance of winning, 32% for a draw and 33% for a visitor's win, with combined expected goals of 2.24 (1.13 for the home side, 1.11 for the away side). The outcome ended up tilting toward the option that was the least favored on paper, though within a fairly even margin among all three possibilities.

What the result leaves behind

With this win, Talleres de Cordoba sits 14th in Group A with 8 points from 9 matches played, while Union Santa Fe stayed sixth with 13 points from the same number of games, a gap of 5 points between the two. For the home side, which had been going through an uneven run in the standings, the three points at home offer some relief; for the visitors, the loss snaps a streak in which they had been picking up points bit by bit despite some difficulties. The match also produced yellow cards for Lucas Ayala, Juan Pablo Luduena, Roman Riquelme, Brahian Cuello and Juan Sforza, in a matchup played with plenty of physical intensity from both sides right up to the final whistle.