TRUJILLO (Interstat) — Cesar Vallejo opened its competition season with a 2-1 victory over Estudiantil CNI on Saturday at Estadio Mansiche, using an early goal and a second-half response to secure the win. Cesar Vallejo was the home team, and Estudiantil CNI was the visiting team. Cesar Vallejo improved to 1-0 in the competition and is now 1-0 across all competitions. Estudiantil CNI dropped to 0-1 in the competition and is now 0-1 across all competitions. The result was Cesar Vallejo’s first competition win and Estudiantil CNI’s first competition loss. The home side led at halftime and answered after the visitors had pulled level, keeping the result in hand through the final whistle.

Cesar Vallejo needed little time to take the lead. Frank Ysique scored in the fourth minute, giving the home side an early advantage. The goal came before either team had settled into a lengthy spell of possession, and it remained the only goal of the first half. Cesar Vallejo carried the 1-0 lead into the break. Ysique played 46 minutes and scored once before he was substituted at the 46th minute. The first half also included a yellow card for Cesar Vallejo’s Bernaola B. in first-half stoppage time at 45+1. Estudiantil CNI could not answer before halftime.

Estudiantil CNI responded after the interval. Matias Villalta scored in the 56th minute to pull the visitors level at 1-1, changing the match’s complexion and forcing Cesar Vallejo to answer. Villalta played 84 minutes and scored once and was later substituted in the 84th minute. Before Villalta’s goal, Cesar Vallejo’s Cordova B. received a yellow card in the 54th minute. Estudiantil CNI made a pair of changes at the 46th minute, with Cabrera E. and Oliveira R. entering as the visitors sought to reshape the match at the start of the second half.

The deciding moment arrived in the 69th minute, when Julinho Astudillo restored Cesar Vallejo’s lead with a goal. Astudillo played 44 minutes and scored once. The same minute produced a yellow card for Estudiantil CNI’s Hidalgo S., adding further tension to a match that remained tight into its final stages. Cesar Vallejo made two substitutions in the 68th minute, bringing on Vera S. and Grandez G., then made another change in the 84th minute when Garcia R. entered. Estudiantil CNI made a 75th-minute substitution with Martinez J. and used its final listed change in the 84th minute when Villalta came off.

The most important part of the game was the back-and-forth after halftime. Villalta’s equalizer gave Estudiantil CNI a foothold, but Cesar Vallejo’s response through Astudillo proved decisive. The home side managed the remaining minutes with the lead, while the visitors could not find a second equalizer. Cesar Vallejo’s victory came in its first competition match of the season, while Estudiantil CNI opened with a loss. The match at Estadio Mansiche ended with Cesar Vallejo ahead 2-1. In the key performances, Villalta finished with 84 minutes and one goal, Astudillo had 44 minutes and one goal, and Ysique had 46 minutes and one goal. The goals came in the fourth, 56th and 69th minutes, and the yellow cards came in the 45+1, 54th and 69th minutes. Substitutions were made in the 46th, 68th, 75th and 84th minutes. The home side’s win and the visitors’ loss were reflected in both competition and overall records.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Cesar Vallejo 2, Estudiantil CNI 1. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Cesar Vallejo with an 82.6 percent probability to win. Cesar Vallejo had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1. The total score of 3 went under the over/under line of 2.5.