Santos stun Pachuca in Liga MX playoffs

It was surely the most incredible match we’ve witnessed so far in the Clausura 2023. Pachuca and Santos offered a true spectacle worthy of a madhouse in their fight for a ticket to the Fiesta Grande of Mexican soccer.

Eight goals were scored by this duo, four for each side, and the always dramatic series of penalties capped a historic night that the fans present at the Hidalgo Stadium will never forget.

The first strikes were more like a tennis match sequence than a soccer match. “Chicho” Arango opened Pandora’s Box from the penalty spot in the 7th minute; at ‘11 Harold Preciado equalized. Three minutes later Roberto de la Rosa regained the lead, but on ‘26 Caicedo again levelled it up.

Before the end of the first half, Romario Ibarra made it 3-2, and it seemed that the Tuzos had appeased the visitors, but in the second act the emotions would continue to flow. “Fingers” López asserted the “law of the ex” and joined the parade of goals with a masterful brushstroke on the edge of the area that found the angle. 3-3 was the score on ‘51.

Gibran Lajud monumental

For a long period of time the game entered a state of rest, knowing that mistakes would cost everything, and the teams took it upon themselves to pass the ball with only some sporadic attacks, and it was in this period of cooling off that Lajud pulled off an impressive double save.

Unpredictable finish

Already in added time, Érick Sánchez then broke the deadlock and it seemed that everything would be smiles in the Bella Airosa, but in the final play, from a free kick, the Brazilian Matheus Dória took advantage of a rebound to silence the fans and send them to penalties.

It was here where Lajud was enlarged once again with two huge saves and the champion finally fell. Santos, from thirteenth position in the table, will fight for the Mexican soccer championship. Have we ever seen anything like it?