Palestino saw off Uachipato 5-1 at Estadio Municipal de la Cisterne in the nineteenth round of the Primera División. The hosts moved up to fifth place on 33 points while Uachipato dropped to thirteenth with 24 points from 20 fixtures.
The opening goal came at the 40th minute when L. Altamirano found the net, but it was B. Carrasco who drew attention with two yellow cards in quick succession before halftime. S. Gallegos then ended a barren spell with two strikes in stoppage time, and R. Fernandez added a third just after the interval. By then the match had settled into a rhythm that favoured the home side.
Palestino held 69 per cent of possession and created five big chances from 17 attempts. Uachipato managed only three shots on target from five efforts. And here's the thing about such a scoreline — it rarely reflects the full picture of a game, though in this instance the statistics told a similar story.
I. Alegria's goal at the 50th minute stretched the lead further, and F. T. Montes Romero converted at the 87th minute to complete the scoring. G. Tapia Paez then punished Uachipato from a corner in the 90th minute plus six, sealed as a penalty goal. The visitors were reduced to ten men in spirit if not in numbers, unable to match the intensity.
The result leaves Palestino with a comfortable cushion above the relegation zone. They had taken two points from their previous three games before this performance. Uachipato, meanwhile, have now lost four of their last five matches and face a difficult run ahead.