Monterrey completed its upset of Santos Laguna, holding the league leaders to a 1-1 draw and winning by a 6-3 aggregate score.
The Liguilla has demonstrated so far that it does not matter where you finished in the regular-season standings, because anything can go in the playoffs. The Rayados of Monterrey had an inconsistent Apertura 2019, claiming the eighth and final playoff spot on the final weekend of the season.
No matter. They crushed top-seeded Santos Laguna 5-2 in the first leg of their quarterfinal series, then claimed a spot in the semifinals by holding the powerful Guerreros to a 1-1 result in Torreon.
Although Santos’ time in the Liguilla came to an end quickly, they started the Sunday’s game with guns blazing. Their star player Brian Lozano scored in minute 19th, giving Santos fans a slight ray of hope. They would have to score twice more in 71 minutes to produce a 5-5 aggregate score and advance on the away goal rule.
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As time continued to trickle away, the Rayados started to control the ball and create scoring chances of their own. Early in the second half, Monterrey broke through on a lightning fast counter led by Jesus Gallardo who fed striker Vincent Janssen for an easy sliding tap-in. After a brief pause so that video assistant replay could make sure there was no offside on the play, the Rayados celebrated restoring their 3-goal lead.
After 180 minutes of action between the No. 1 and No. 8 seeds, the lowest seed in the playoff bracket was the team moving on. Monterrey was clearly the better team and coach Antonio “Turco” Mohamed will begin preparing for the semifinals.
The Rayados will face No. 5 seed Necaxa (a 6-2 aggregate winner over the fourth-seeded Gallos Blancos of Queretaro) in the next round. In the other semifinal, the No. 6 seeded Aguilas of America will face the No. 7 seed, Morelia.
One thing for sure, the Liguilla is on fire, with plenty of emotions. The Apertura 2019 has wound down to its Final Four.