CARACAS (Interstat) — Universidad Central overcame a second-half deficit and defeated Atletico Barinas 5-3 on Thursday, using a four-goal burst in the final 20 minutes to turn a tight match into a high-scoring home win. The hosts scored five times in all, while Atletico Barinas stayed close with goals on either side of halftime and added a late goal in stoppage time.

The match began with Universidad Central on the front foot, and Juan Alegria gave the hosts the lead in the 11th minute. Atletico Barinas responded in the 26th minute through Yehova Osorio, who pulled the visitors level. Alegria’s goal was the first of the match and came after an early spell of possession for the hosts. Neither side scored again before halftime, leaving the match level at 1-1.

Atletico Barinas took the lead in the 55th minute when Isaac Valencia scored. Universidad Central then found the equalizer through Kendrys Silva in the 71st minute. The equalizer from Silva was followed by three more Universidad Central goals in a seven-minute span. Jesus Colmenarez put Universidad Central ahead in the 81st minute, Samuel Sosa scored in the 85th, and Daniel Carrillo added another in the 88th to make the score 5-2.

Valencia scored his second goal in the first minute of stoppage time, trimming the final margin to 5-3. The late goal gave Atletico Barinas a third score, but Universidad Central had already built enough separation during its second-half run. The final goal came after Atletico Barinas pushed numbers forward in search of a second goal in the closing minutes. Valencia’s two goals came in a losing effort, while Universidad Central’s attack produced goals from five different players.

Valencia finished with two goals for Atletico Barinas. Alegria, Silva, Colmenarez, Sosa and Carrillo each scored once for Universidad Central, and Osorio scored once for the visitors. Five players scored for Universidad Central, while Valencia and Osorio scored for Atletico Barinas.

Universidad Central moved to 1-0-0 in the competition and 1-1-1 across all competitions. Atletico Barinas is now 1-1-1 in the competition and 2-1-1 across all competitions. The win kept Universidad Central unbeaten in the competition, while Atletico Barinas remained at one win, one loss and one draw in its competition matches. The competition records reflect different starts, with Universidad Central still without a competition loss and Atletico Barinas at one win, one loss and one draw in three competition matches.

Atletico Barinas entered the match after a 4-2 home win over Frontera, a 3-0 home win over Frontera and a 0-0 draw at Zamora in its previous three matches. The visitors had scored seven goals across those two wins and conceded only twice, and they had also kept a clean sheet in the draw at Zamora.

Universidad Central had drawn 0-0 with Portuguesa and lost 4-1 at Dep. Tachira in its previous two matches. The hosts had conceded four goals in that loss and had been held scoreless in the draw, and they entered the match with one win, one loss and one draw across all competitions.

Atletico Barinas is scheduled to play at Yaracuyanos in the Segunda División in its next match. Universidad Central will carry the result into its next competition fixture. The next match offers Atletico Barinas a chance to respond after conceding five goals, while Universidad Central will try to maintain the attacking form it showed after the 71st minute.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Universidad Central 1, Atletico Barinas 1. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Universidad Central with a 76.8 percent probability to win. Universidad Central had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 8 went under the over/under line of 2.75.