Rayados of Monterrey secure invite to Liga MX semifinals after slipping past feisty Necaxa.
Monterrey squeaked by outmanned Necaxa on Sunday night to claim the fourth and final spot in the Liga MX semifinals. The reward for the Rayados is yet another Clásico Regiomontano while the other semifinal sees No. 1 seed León facing the defending champion Aguilas of América.
Monterrey midfielder Rodolfo Pizarro capped a splendid performance by scoring the goal that advanced the favored Rayados, popping a pass over his head while grappling with a defender, then booting the ball just inside the far post. The goal came just before halftime and evened the aggregate score 1-1 which allowed the higher seed – Monterrey – to move on in the Liguilla.
Necaxa goalie Hugo González was under siege from the outset and Monterrey got off 21 shots, 4 on goal. At the other end, the Rayos also got 4 shots on goal, but Marcelo Barovero – former Necaxa goalie – was up to the task.
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The No. 3 seed Rayados move on to the final four to face crosstown rivals Tigres who eliminated Pachuca. This will be the third Clásico Regio in the semifinals and Monterrey has advanced in both previous encounters (Clausura 2003 and Apertura 2005).
Overall, this will be the eighth time these eternal rivals meet in a playoff series. Monterrey holds the edge, winning 5 of the 8, but the Tigres have won the last two, including a tense affair in the Grand Final of the Apertura 2017 season, the only Clásico Regio in a Liga MX final. The Tigres settled for a 1-1 tie at home in the opener of that Final, then overcame an early goal by Monterrey in the second leg as Edu Vargas banged home the equalizer and defender Francisco Meza tallied the winner.
The Tigres are the higher seed (No. 2) so this series will end at their Estadio Universitario on Saturday night, unlike the Concacaf Champions League Final series last month in which the Rayados won that title at home.
On the other side of the bracket, No. 1 seed León and No. 5 América will square off for a fifth time in the playoffs with the teams splitting the previous meetings. The most significant of these prior encounters was in the Grand Final of the Apertura 2013 tournament. In that series, León crushed the Aguilas 5-1, denying América back-to-back championships.
In the past 10 games between these two teams, León as the advantage, going 6-3-1 with 17 goals for and 11 goals against. This season, the Esmeraldas battered the Aguilas 3-0 in Estadio Azteca in a Matchday 6 clash.
América reached the semifinals by outlasting Cruz Azul on a 3-2 aggregate, while León dominated No. 8 seed Tijuana.
The first leg will be played at Estadio Azteca on Wednesday, while the return match will take place Saturday night in León.