Liga del Futbol Profesional Boliviano Wrap: The Strongest win third straight

The Strongest notched a third straight victory in the Liga del Futbol Profesional Boliviano as the top two clubs also won.

The Strongest needed an 88th-minute goal from Pablo Escobar to overcome Real Potosi on Monday, which saw the reigning Apertura champions leapfrog their opponents into third in the table, one point behind leaders San Jose, who defeated Blooming 3-1.

Club Universitario sit second in Bolivia, ahead of The Strongest on goal difference, after their 1-0 victory against Aurora.

In La Paz, The Strongest dominated their match against Real with 16 shots to seven but had to wait until two minutes before the break to open the scoring.

Alejandro Chumacero burst onto a through ball in the penalty area and although his initial shot was saved by Real’s goalkeeper, the 22-year-old midfielder made no mistake with his second effort.

The visitors started the second half stronger, creating a couple of big chances and hitting the bar, and, in the 70th minute, Real deservedly equalised when Enrique Bustillos thrashed the ball into the net from a tight angle.

But with two minutes of regular time remaining, Escobar clinched victory for The Strongest with a scorching strike from 30 yards.

The Strongest (22 points, plus four goal difference) replaced Real (21) in third in the table with Universitario (22, plus six) in second behind San Jose (23).

In Sucre, Gustavo Pinedo wrapped up the three points for Universitario with a 43rd-minute strike against Aurora.

San Jose cruised past Blooming on Saturday thanks to a first-half brace from Adan Bravo and Hector Calderon’s cool finish just after the break.

Bravo opened the scoring in the 29th minute with a tap-in after San Jose had sprung Blooming’s offside trap, while the Argentine midfielder notched his second goal 13 minutes later with a strike from outside the box.

Calderon made it 3-0 in the 52nd minute, beating Blooming’s goalkeeper one-on-one after getting behind the defence and although Sergio Almiron converted a penalty for the visitors just two minutes later, San Jose went on to claim their seventh victory of the Clausura campaign.

In other results, Wilstermann edged out Sport Boys 1-0, Nacional Potosi drew 1-1 with Bolivar and Oriente Petrolero were held 2-2 at home by Guabira.