Liga MX: Monterrey beats Pachuca on penalties to reach Copa MX final
After a 3-3 draw in regulation, Monterrey goalie Juan Pablo Carrizo blocked Víctor Guzmán’s penalty kick while Jesús Gallardo converted his, sending the Rayados to the Copa MX final.
Ten-man Monterrey scored 40 seconds after the break to take a 3-2 lead then fought tooth and nail the rest of the second half only to see Christián Giménez smash a free kick into their net 6 minutes into injury time.
Rogelio Funes Mori scored 2 first-half goals for the Rayados but Daniel Lajud’s goal just after the restart looked to be the game-winner until Giménez’s heroics. The 19-year-old midfielder stepped into a deflected cross and left-footed a blast that just grazed the inside of the post to the right of 45-year-old Pachuca goalie Oscar Pérez. Lajud scored a similar goal in league play on Saturday to defeat Toluca.
Pachuca played a tune that is becoming too familiar to Tuzos fans. Plenty of build-up and crisp passing but poor finishing. Just like against Toluca when they also played with a man advantage for more than a half, the Tuzos could not find a way to put the ball in the net.
Pachuca moved the ball from side-to-side and probed the flanks, but the creativity did not go beyond attempting long crosses into the box. Centering passes were headed away or mis-hit, but the Tuzos insisted on trying the same strategy over and over.
Despite playing without their top three central defenders (José María Basanta and César Montes are injured, while Nico Sánchez was ejected in minute 42 for a stomp on Erick Aguirre’s foot), Monterrey was able to clear space in front of keeper Carrizo and when the goalie was called upon to make a save, it was rarely a challenging one.
Miguel Tapias scored the opener for Pachuca only 2 minutes in, knocking home a rebound at the back post off a corner kick, while Franco Jara headed home a free kick 2 minutes after Sánchez was shown the red card.
Monterrey awaits the winner of the Cruz Azul-León match for its opponent in the Copa MX final scheduled for Oct. 31. The Rayados will host the final, hoping to repeat the title they won exactly a year ago when they defeated Pachuca 1-0.
Necaxa inks former Santos coach
Days after unceremoniously firing Marcelo Michel, Necaxa has a new coach but he won’t be able to take over until after the season.
Robert Dante Siboldi – the coach who led Santos to the Liga MX title last season – will take the reins at Necaxa in January. He is prohibited from coaching the Rayos right now since league rules prevent a coach from working at two clubs during the same season. So the Rayos will rely on an interim coach to see out the remaining four games.
Siboldi resigned from Santos in early August after a dispute with a player turned physical. He led the Guerreros to victory over top-seeded Toluca in the finals after the team finished second in the standings during the Clausura 2018 season.
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The 53-year-old Uruguayan Siboldi enjoyed a 19-year career, playing for 4 teams in Mexico in the early 1990s (Atlas, Cruz Azul, Puebla and Tigres). He also played 34 games for the Uruguay national team.