Atlético Torque beat Liverpool Montevideo 3-1 in the first division aperturа at Estadio Charroua on Monday night. The home side took the lead early when B. Gutierrez fired past the keeper in the eighth minute and held on through a turbulent contest. Liverpool Montevideo pulled one back in the fifty-ninth minute but could not find an equaliser after J. Taran was sent off for the hosts in the fifty-first. The result keeps Torque third on fifty points and drops Liverpool to seventh with forty-two.
N. Da Silva was the match-winner for the home side, netting twice in quick succession. His first came in the thirty-third minute after a period of sustained pressure, and he doubled his tally just before half-time in the forty-eighth. Torque were already ahead when he struck, but the second goal effectively killed the game. Liverpool Montevideo got a consolation through T. Brizuela in the fifty-ninth minute, but by then the damage had been done.
The red card changed the shape of the second half. J. Taran went off in the fifty-first minute and Torque had to sit deep and soak it up for the remainder. Liverpool Montevideo controlled possession at 62 per cent and launched 133 attacks compared with ninety-two, but they could not cut through the visitors. Four shots on target for Liverpool contrasted with seven for Torque, a reminder that chances went begging for the away side despite their dominance.
We had backed the home side to win with forty per cent confidence and the prediction came good. Torque needed to bounce back after losing 2-0 to Cienciano on Wednesday, and this performance showed they were back in full training. The captain dragged them through it after the dismissal, and the team kept their heads when things got nervy. Liverpool Montevideo did not travel to make up the numbers, but they could not punish the error.
Substitutions came thick and fast in the second half. Liverpool brought on K. Lewis and L. Acosta together in the fifty-fifth minute, while Torque responded with R. Lecchini in the fifty-fourth. The home side also introduced N. Perez in the sixty-sixth and then paired F. Martinez with E. Castillo in the seventy-first. Five yellow cards were shown in the closing stages, including four in the ninety-seventh minute alone.