Everton came from behind in the final 15 minutes to defeat Deportes La Serena 3-2 at Sausalito stadium in Viña del Mar in round 24 of the Liga de Primera. The final two goals came from penalties, both of which were disputed.
According to Cooperativa, the result put the Viña del Mar side in the Copa Sudamericana qualification places and close to the Copa Libertadores spots. The website g5noticias reported that Walter Ribonetto's team rose to fourth place with 39 points.
La Serena struck first. In the 11th minute, Felipe Chamorro pounced on a rebound from a Jeyson Vargas shot, in a move that began with a defensive error by Ignacio González. Everton took control of possession, and Julián Alfaro equalized in the 28th minute after an assist from Benjamín Berríos.
The Maroons went ahead again in the 56th minute through a goal by Matías Marín. The hosts kept pressing, and VAR (video assistant referee) called the referee over for a handball by Gonzalo Escalante in the penalty area. Braian Martínez converted the penalty to make it 2-2 in the 78th minute.
In the 89th minute, another infringement in the penalty area, fiercely contested by La Serena's players, led to a second penalty. Uruguayan Alan Medina converted it to make it 3-2. The match ended amid heated exchanges: La Serena's Bruno Gutiérrez was sent off for a second yellow card in stoppage time.
Everton played in pink shirts in tribute to women facing breast cancer.
In the table, the gold and sky-blue side moved within three points of Universidad de Chile and are also putting pressure on Universidad Católica in the race for Libertadores qualification. La Serena, coached by Felipe Gutiérrez, remained in tenth place with 30 points.
Everton's next opponents will be Universidad de Chile, in a direct clash for international cup qualification places.
