National versus Tolima: the first 90 minutes before the national title

Atlético Nacional will take revenge against Deportes Tolima on Wednesday in the first leg of the final of the Apertura Tournament, after the team from Ibagué won the Colombian league title in the last final they played four years ago.

The ‘Verdolagas’ will go for their seventeenth title in Colombia under coach Hernán Darío ‘el Arriero’ Herrera, while the ‘Pijaos’ will seek their fourth trophy in what will be their third consecutive final, cementing them as a team most regularly in the country in recent times.

For this game, Atlético Nacional will have to deal with the loss of midfielder Nelson Palacio due to suspension, but the squad has Dorlan Pabón, who has recovered from the inconvenience he left in the last game of the home runs against Junior, and with Giovanni Moreno, whose sanction was suspended.

Another of those who may be among those called up is left-back Álvaro Angulo, after overcoming an injury that left him out of action for several weeks.

Exactly the team from Medellín qualified for the final after finishing as leader of Group A with 12 units, four points more than the ‘Tiburón’ who finished second. Millonarios and Atlético Bucaramanga finished third and fourth respectively with six points each.

Veteran midfielder Alexander Mejía appreciated that Atlético Nacional are returning to a league final after such a long time, thanks to the path they have “built” since the start of the semester.

“A lot of situations have happened and we have been able to reverse them. We are close to the goal,” said Mejía, a 2014 World Cup player in Brazil.

Tolima reached the final after leading Group B with 13 units, followed by Deportivo Independiente Medellín (DIM) with 11, La Equidad with 9 and Envigado with one.

Those led by Hernán Torres, Colombia’s only representative in the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores, will try to get a good result from Medellín to determine the title next Sunday at their home, the Manuel Murillo Toro- stadium, in Ibague.

Winger Jeison Lucumí, a former player of Elche and América de Cali, may not be available for this match due to family reasons.

Torres, however, has the bulk of the payroll that has seen him achieve good results this semester, which has seen names like Ecuadorian goalkeeper Alexander Domínguez stand out, who is expected to return to the starting lineup after leaving the FIFA map with your country’s roster; the central Sergio Mosquera or the end Andrés Ibargüen.