Cavani hasn’t had a shot on target in the Superclásico and is increasingly further away from goal

Boca’s attackers were not up to par in the Superclásico, but all the criticism underlines this Edinson Cavani. With his decade-long career in European football and his performance of over 400 goals (including his participation in the Uruguayan national team), the 37-year-old Salto-born striker is a big disappointment. He scored 3 goals in 20 games he played in the blue and gold shirt and hasn’t shouted for 532 minutes. The last one was in October, in the semi-final against Palmeiras. Since then, injuries on the bench, he has failed to convert. Despite the support of Juan Roman Riquelme and of Diego Martinez.

The coach reflected on it in the press conference, perhaps trying to lift the spirit of a footballer who has had an extraordinary career, but who is currently experiencing a critical moment, far from the expectation that he had generated when he arrived on the banks of the Riachuelo. . And he did a thorough analysis.

“I took it out because I felt tired.. For me he is a sensational footballer. Edison is fantastic. He is not converting, but he will convert. What works. He coaches like he plays matches. He is the first to arrive, the last to leave. He is hyperprofessional. He demands them all. He is in all the details,” the coach said.

And for those who want to grow in this profession that they love, having a player of this category, of the career he has, is first of all a pleasure and a great educational experience. If he misses the goal, he will make it. Attackers live off the goal. But for me a player is much more integral, he is giving us many other things that we cannot enjoy because he understands that the attacker must score the goals,” he added.

The truth is that, beyond Martínez’s words of compliment, we must refer to the Uruguayan’s performance on green grass. The numbers are as indisputable as they are lapidary: Cavani didn’t shoot on goal for the entire match.

Furthermore, he touched the ball 21 times with 13 of 17 passes accurate (76%), but none of them groundbreaking. He hit a long ball, which was a change in front for Luis Advíncula, won two duels from below and one from above, lost possession 5 times and was fouled.

In the preview the fans made him feel the penalty and They shouted “goal” at him every time he touched the ball in the pre-match warm-up. In 66 minutes he barely intervened. Not even Miguel Merentiel, who touched the ball more times (29), but was less accurate (9 of 15, 60%). At least, his compatriot made a key pass, but his stats were also poor. Obviously, unlike Edi, he scored 3 goals in 7 dates.

Cavani went far back to connect the ball, a sign that the game wasn’t coming to him. But the question is on the territory and in its habitat it does not answer.

Darío Benedetto came on with two minutes left. He fought a ball against the corner flag and committed an infringement. His entry seems like a spasm from Martínez, a failed intuition because Pipa doesn’t even have time to finish in front of Franco Armani’s goal.

Boca’s three “9s” aren’t in a great moment. And not even those they accompany. Luca Langoni’s arrival wasn’t the shock Martínez expected.