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Liga MX: Matosas makes a difference, Siboldi doesn’t

By Thomas Buckley

Cruz Azul's Roberto Siboldi shouts at his team during the match against Veracruz, but to little avail. (Photo by VICTOR CRUZ/AFP/Getty Images)
Cruz Azul's Roberto Siboldi shouts at his team during the match against Veracruz, but to little avail. (Photo by VICTOR CRUZ/AFP/Getty Images) /
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Three newest Liga MX coaches have mixed debuts, while Tigres squander chance after chance in Tijuana.

Gustavo Matosas won his debut on the Atlético de San Luis bench, while Cruz Azul failed to respond under the direction of Robert Dante Siboldi who extended his Liga MX winless streak at Estadio Luis “Pirata” de la Fuente in Veracruz.

Three coaches made their Apertura 2019 debuts on Friday night but only Matosas came away with three points as his Tuneros won at Puebla. In Veracruz, new Tiburones coach Enrique López Zarza earned a point in his first game at the helm, but his team’s world-record winless streak now stands at 35 games.

In Tijuana, the Tigres flubbed six clear opportunities to open up a two-goal lead then conceded a late penalty and had to settle for their fifth consecutive tie.

Puebla 1, Atlético San Luis 3

Tuneros ownership got what they wanted when they made a surprise coaching change during the FIFA break – a more offensive-minded approach. Gustavo Matosas has been on the job less than a week but he had his team in attack mode from the opening whistle. And it paid off with a 3-1 win.

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Just 90 seconds into the match at Estadio Cuauhtémoc, Luis Reyes got free down the left flank, rounded defender Néstor Vidrio and sent a crisp pass to Nicolás Ibáñez who had fooled his marker and was all alone inside the penalty spot. Ibáñez swept the ball into the net for a quick 1-0 lead. It was the Tuneros’ second shot of the game already.

Less than 20 minutes later, San Luis was on the board again when Juan Castro dropped a pass back to the onrushing Oscar Benítez who fired home from 22 meters. Puebla cut the deficit in half just before the break when Daniel Arreola blasted a long, swerving kick that fooled Carlos Rodríguez, but that did not fluster the Tuneros. Rodríguez kept his poise and made four big saves on the night.

Puebla wasted a couple chances to equalize early in the second half, as San Luis struggled to control tempo despite enjoying 65% possession and outshooting the Camoteros 14-7. Matosas could finally exhale in added time as Germán Berterame banged home a long shot to clinch the win. The result momentarily has the Tuneros in sixth place in the Liga MX table, with 14 points and a 4-2-2 record. The 3 goals are a season-high in Liga MX play for Atlético San Luis (the Tuneros scored 3 goals in a Copa MX match in August).

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