Leider Berdugo strung together every pass, unlocked every seam, and watched his team lose by four goals anyway.
The Cúcuta Deportivo midfielder completed 59 of 64 passes and carved out eight chances for teammates in Tuesday's Categoría Primera A clash, yet departed the pitch on the wrong end of a 5-1 scoreline. None of those key passes turned into an assist. The opponents who benefited from his creativity were Once Caldas, who punished Cúcuta's defensive frailties with ruthless efficiency.
Numbers without reward
Berdugo's 92 per cent pass accuracy belonged in a different match to the one unfolding around him. Eight chances created is the sort of output that typically accompanies a comfortable victory; instead it highlighted the gulf between Cúcuta's build-up play and their ability to convert pressure into goals or prevent them at the other end. The midfielder earned a 6.9 match rating for his work in possession, a figure that speaks to individual craft rather than collective outcome.
Once Caldas needed no such volume of opportunities. They found the net five times and left Berdugo to reflect on a performance that, in isolation, might have merited headlines. Context, as ever, told a harsher story: sometimes the playmaker does everything right and the scoreboard still mocks him.