![Gol de Universitario en Chile: Alex Valera anotó con un cabezazo ante Coquimbo por Copa Libertadores [VIDEO]](https://usintimes.com/uploads/2026/05/08/coquimbo-unido-universitario-249f924d_800w.avif)
Alex Valera scored the only goal of the match as Universitario de Deportes took a 1-0 lead over Coquimbo Unido in Chile on the fourth matchday of Group B in the Copa Libertadores 2026. The forward finished a scrappy sequence in the area after a corner kick, a header from Anderson Santamaría and a shot by Caín Fara that crashed off the crossbar.
Juan Cornejo had earlier threatened for Coquimbo Unido with a free kick, but the home side could not turn that warning into an equalizer. Universitario arrived in Chile after beating Nacional 4-2, while Coquimbo Unido came in off a 3-0 loss to Tolima in Colombia. The match was played at Estadio Francisco Sánchez and unfolded as a closely contested first half in which Universitario made one of its chances count.
The Coquimbo Unido lineup listed Diego Sánchez, Bejamín Gazzolo, Manuel Fernández, Francisco Salinas, Juan Cornejo, Sebastián Galani, Alejandro Camargo, Benjamín Chandía, Cristian Zavala, Guido Vadalá and Nicolas Johanse. Universitario started with Miguel Vargas, Caín Fara, Anderson Santamaría, Matías Di Benedetto, Andy Polo, Martín Pérez Guedes, Jorge Murrugarra, Jairo Concha, José Carabalí, Edison Flores and Alex Valera.
The result mattered because it came in the fourth round of Group B and followed two very different paths into the match: Universitario’s 4-2 win over Nacional and Coquimbo Unido’s 3-0 defeat to Tolima. In a group where margins are thin, Valera’s goal gave Universitario the cleaner first-half return and left Coquimbo Unido chasing the game after an opening period they had largely kept alive.
What decided it was not a flowing move but a sequence of rebounds that finally broke Coquimbo Unido’s resistance. That is often how tight continental games are settled, and Universitario found the one moment it needed before halftime pressure could turn into a stronger home response.
