No. 3 Rayados face uphill battle vs No. 6 Necaxa in Liguilla

Monterrey will need to be at their absolute best in order to make a strong comeback against impressively solid Necaxa side.

Monterrey seem to be at a rather serious disadvantage going into this highly rated second leg quarterfinal match. Not only are the Rayados 1-0 down without getting an all-important away goal, they also went a man down after forward Aviles Hurtado was sent off in the first half.

The Rayados will need to make a convincing comeback without one of their star players against a team they have failed to beat in 2019 (the two teams played to a 2-2 draw in Monterrey on April 27). Necaxa, by contrast, clearly had a game plan and doggedly stuck to it, successfully nullifying Monterrey’s attacking play while capitalizing on a scoring chance in the dying moments of the first half.

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While down, Monterrey are by no means out of this competition just yet as we all know they have the players and style in their locker room to pull off a comeback. It helps them massively that they’ll play at home where they were undefeated this season (4-5-0, 23 goals for, 9 goals against).

Monterrey will need to find the attacking form that helped them so magnificently beat local rivals Tigres in the Concacaf Champions League and also will need to shore up their defense as allowing an away goal will almost certainly knock them out of the Liguilla. The Rayados can’t simply rely on their home form because Necaxa was the league’s third-best road team (5-1-3, 20 goals for, 15 against).

Necaxa will be rueing the missed chances from the first leg, as winning by 2-0 (or more) would have effectively knocked out the No. 3 seeded club in the first stage of the Liguilla. With only one goal separating the teams at this point, there is every chance that Monterry could launch an exciting comeback.

Getting knocked out in the first stage of the Liguilla would be bitterly disappointing for a club who not only finished in the top 3 of the regular season, but recently hoisted the the Concacaf Champions League trophy. Monterrey are one of the most exciting and highly rated clubs in Mexico and should be dispatching clubs like Necaxa with ease.

However a continual criticism of Monterrey the past few seasons is their lack of stability and their, at times, clear weakness on defense. For a club that wants to be winning League titles, they need to improve in this area and the first step is beating Necaxa.

Whatever happens in the second leg on Sunday, Necaxa should hold their heads up high. Not only did they exceed expectations by qualifying for the Liguilla, but they surprised the pundits by winning the first leg..

One thing is for sure, this game is locked on to be an exciting clash and very much epitomizes the excitement that draws so much interest from within Mexico for its Liguilla tournament.

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