Universidad Católica claimed a dramatic 4-3 win over Audax Italiano at Estadio Bicentenario de La Florida in the ninth round of the Chilean Primera División. The match saw seven goals and two red cards for the hosts, ending with Juan Ignacio Díaz's header in the 89th minute. Audax's Esteban Matus sharply criticized referee Diego Flores afterward.
Universidad Católica came back multiple times in a chaotic match against Audax Italiano. Giovani Chiaverano opened scoring in the 4th minute with a long-range shot. Clemente Montes equalized at 11 with a header from Fernando Zuqui's long ball, followed by Franco Troyansky's 2-1 at 28 and Justo Giani's 2-2 at 33 off Nicolás L’Huillier's low cross. Matías Palavecino made it 3-2 just before halftime with a left-footed touch.
In the second half, Marco Collao tied it at 53 with a distant strike, but Audax lost Collao to a second yellow in the 75th minute. Favián Loyola received a straight red in 90+8 for a hard foul on Díaz. UC exploited the spaces as Díaz headed the 4-3 winner in the 89th, in front of 3,954 fans.
Post-match, Audax's Esteban Matus blasted referee Diego Flores on TNT Sports: “It gives impotence, anger, to be playing well and have so many refereeing errors. Always with the big teams, you touch them and they call fouls easily. A ball divided on the ground is a red. When it's the other way, they have no intention of seeing it.” Matus said the refereeing shaped the game.
UC reaches 17 points, one behind Colo Colo, ahead of Cruzeiro in Libertadores. Audax, after losing to Olimpia in Sudamericana, heads to Vasco da Gama. Both showed defensive frailties, with UC scoring 23 but conceding 14 in nine rounds.
