Uruguayan club Unión defeated Peruvian Alianza Lima 2-1 in the friendly Río de la Plata match played this afternoon at the Parque Federico Saroldi, owned by Uruguayan River Plate. According to the Argentine News Agency, the goals for the Santa Fe team were scored by midfielder Sergio Peña, who scored an own goal in the first minute, and winger Julián Palacios in the 11th minute of the second half. For the Peruvian team, the forward Eryc Castillo scored to narrow the deficit a minute later. Thus, 'Tatengue' achieved a favorable result in their first match of the year, aiming to maintain their performance from the 2025 Clausura Tournament. In that competition, they surprised everyone by finishing second in Zone A under coach Leonardo Madelón, although they were eliminated in the round of 16 of the knockout stage. Unión took the lead in the first minute when Sergio Peña passed to goalkeeper Alejandro Duarte without looking. Duarte was off his line and watched as the ball slowly rolled into his empty net. At 14 minutes, forward Franco Fragapane advanced through the middle and shot from outside the area, but the ball went high and posed no threat to Duarte. 'Tatengue' had another chance at 30 minutes with a shot from midfielder Mauro Pittón from the edge of the area, which also went over the crossbar. Alianza Lima had their first dangerous chance at 36 minutes with a powerful shot from defender Carlos Zambrano that hit the right post of goalkeeper Matías Mansilla. From the ground, Mansilla held onto the rebound, which had first hit Pittón and was heading towards the goal. The Santa Fe team extended their lead in the 11th minute of the second half when high pressure on the Peruvian team's clearance left winger Julián Palacios one-on-one on the right, and his high shot made it 2-0. Alianza Lima would pull one back just a minute later after a good combination on the left that ended with a shot from Castillo from the edge of the area, which hit the crossbar before going in. At 25 minutes, a good cross-shot from forward Cristian Tarragona was deflected low onto his right post by goalkeeper Guillermo Viscarra.
