Chilean soccer returns with empty stands

The Chilean soccer league will resume its activity this Saturday after more than five months of hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, and it will do so without public and with a strict sanitary protocol.

Between Saturday and Sunday the four matches of the eighth day that remained to be played when on March 17 the authorities suspended the competition as a prevention against the expansion of COVID-19, a decision that left the Catholic University as the undefeated leader of the tournament during all this time with 19 points.

The ball will start rolling on Saturday with the match between Colo Colo and Santiago Wanderers, with the albos in a delicate situation in the table, in which they occupy thirteenth place with 7 points, and the caturros as bottom with only four units.

Colocolino coach Gualberto Jara is expected to dispense with his goalscorer Esteban Paredes for this match, while Argentine defender Matías Zaldivia would return to the field, recovered from a long injury.

The eighth day will be completed on Sunday with three games. That day, O'Higgins, who is sixteenth with 4 points, will receive Antofagasta, fifth with 12. And the Palestinian, sixth with 12 points, will face the University of Chile, which is fourth with 14.

In addition, Unión La Calera and Curicó Unido, which occupy the second and third places in the standings with three points less than the leader, will fight not to lose a jump at the top of the table.

Apart from the games that remained to be played on the eighth day, other previously postponed matches will be played, such as the one corresponding to the seventh date between the leader, the Catholic University, and the Spanish Union, which is seventh with 11 points, which will take place this Saturday.

The leader will return to action with the doubt of defender Benjamin Kuscevic, a fixture in the team commanded by Ariel Holan and whose participation depends on how the discomfort he suffers in one of his ankles improves.

Also on Saturday the postponed match of the fourth day will be played between Coquimbo Unido, which is penultimate with 4 points, and Huachipato, which is ninth with 11.

Coquimbo will return to the courts on Tuesday to recover the suspended match of the second day against Audax Italiano, which occupies eighth position with 11 points.

– Matches of the eighth day

. Saturday: Colo Colo-Santiago Wanderers.

. Sunday: O'Higgins-Antofagasta, Palestino-University of Chile, Curicó Unido-Unión La Calera.

– Matches of the seventh day:

. Saturday: Universidad La Católica-Unión Española.

– Matches of the fourth day:

. Saturday: Coquimbo Unido-Huachipato.

– Match of the second day:

. Monday: Coquimbo Unido-Audax Italiano.

– Classification:

PJ PG PE PP GF GC PTS

.one. Catholic University 7 6 1 0 16 6 19

.two. Union La Calera 7 5 1 1 9 6 16

.3. Curicó Unido 7 5 1 1 7 6 16

.4. University of Chile 7 4 2 1 15 7 14

.5. Antofagasta 7 3 3 1 12 7 12

.6. Palestinian 7 3 3 1 7 7 12

.7. Union Espanola 7 3 2 2 14 11 11

.8. Audax Italiano 7 3 2 2 13 10 11

.9. Huachipato 7 3 2 2 10 9 11

10. Everton 8 2 4 2 6 7 10

11. Cobresal 8 2 3 3 9 12 9

12. Sports Iquique 8 2 2 4 10 14 8

13. Colo Colo 7 2 1 4 9 10 7

14. U of Concepción 8 0 5 3 9 13 5

15. La Serena 8 1 1 6 7 10 4

16. O'Higgins 7 1 1 5 8 13 4

17. Coquimbo Unido 6 1 1 4 4 10 4

18. Santiago Wanderers 7 1 1 5 8 15 4