It was a relief. And a dream afternoon for Iker Muniain. Triumph. Two goals. The ovation from all four sides of the Bidegain. An unforgettable moment for this Basque who did everything possible to wear the Blaugrana. And here he is, enjoying the breath of the Gloriosa, and beginning to show his enormous quality and everything he contributes to the team. It was 2-1 for San Lorenzo against Banfield, on matchday 16 of the championship, and three valuable points to start growing. With a double from Muniain, of course. And promise of many more joys.
It was a tough game for San Lorenzo at the start, which got an early shout from Bustos (a real great goal), then annulled by a handball in the previous action (by Cuello). It opened with Muniain’s penalty goal, but Banfield would achieve the tie at the end of the first half: also from a penalty, Sepúlveda made it 1-1. It was already clear: Iker gave great quality to the team’s passes, which also unbalanced with Cerutti on the right (he replaced Reali in the starting 11, who was injured in the warm-up) and with Cuello’s one-on-one, always dangerous . Bustos, for his part, associated himself with judgment and caused fear with his punch.
In added time, a key action occurred: Banfield would be left with 10, due to the expulsion of Núñez. For this reason, at the start of the complement, Pipi Romagnoli took a gamble by taking out Irala and bringing in Fydriszewski. And after six minutes, the explosion: San Lorenzo prepared the best play of the afternoon, which ended with a cross from Cerutti for Iker to enter. The Basque, with a subtle touch of his left foot, made the stadium explode.
El Ciclón wanted to close the game, but had a hard time finding that final touch. Barrios entered (for Cerutti, who came out applauded) and also Sosa, Blanco and Porra. There were no scoring opportunities and, finally, the victory was at home. A day that is already in the memory: the afternoon in which Iker Muniain hugged Cuervos y Cuervas from all over the world, celebrating a Barça victory. Here’s to many more!
