LIGA MX CLAUSURA 2023
Tigres defeat Monterrey to reach Liga MX Clausura 2023 playoff final after late drama
Sebastián Cordóva scored the only goal of the goal, moments after Rayados had thought they themselves had taken the lead.
Sebastián Córdova scored the only goal as Tigres edged out Monterrey at Estadio BBVA to qualify for the final of the Liga MX Clausura 2023 playoffs, where they will face either Club América or Chivas.
Uneventful first half
The second leg of the semi-final played out in a similar way to the first, with both sides looking to give little away and hoping to capitalise on an error from their opponents. That led to relatively few clear-cut chances throughout the 90 minutes, with a header from Rayados striker German Berterame, which bounced wide of Nahuel Guzman’s goal on the quarter-of-an-hour mark, one of the only moments of danger in the first half.
Indeed, the most noteworthy incident of the opening period was an accidental clash of heads between Rogelio Funes Mori and Jesús Angulo after 27 minutes, which gave the medical staff of both sides work to do and caused a delay of several minutes. Both players were eventually able to play on, although Angulo didn’t reappear for the second half.
Late second-half drama as Moreno goal disallowed
Things heated up a bit after the restart, with the visitors doing much of the running. Rafael Carioca came close to breaking the deadlock on the hour with a fierce strike from distance, which Esteben Andrada in the Monterrey goal did superbly well to keep out.
Coaches Víctor Manuel Vucetich and Robert Dante Siboldi made a series of changes in the hope they would lead to a winning goal and it looked as if they had paid off for the hosts with just over 15 minutes left to play. Héctor Moreno prodded the ball into the Tigres net from a corner but the defender was ruled to have been offside as the ball broke his way.
And Los Auriazules struck in the very next attack moments later. Luis Quiñones’ cross from the right matched up perfectly with the run of Córdova, who found the net for the fifth game running with a textbook downward header.
Late Monterrey pressure leads to nothing
The goal opened the game right up, with Monterrey forced to attack at all costs. However, it was Tigres who came closest to adding a second in the closing stages, with star striker André-Pierre Gignac squandering a decent chance to ease the pressure on his team in the final few minutes.
With time running out, Rayados frantically pushed bodies forward in search of a last-gasp equaliser, but their efforts were to no avail as they were once again eliminated from the playoffs, this time by their bitter rivals. A defeat made all the more painful by their superb performance during the regular season.
Tigres’ Vucetich hoodoo over
Vucetich led Monterrey to Liga MX titles in 2009 and 2019 and had never lost to Tigres in a playoff tie but it’s Siboldi who will have the chance to lift silverware this time around, with his team awaiting the winner of the América vs Chivas semi-final.
- 1 Andrada
- 15 Héctor Moreno (81')
- 17 Jesús Gallardo
- 4 Víctor Guzmán
- 33 Stefan Medina
- 16 Celso Ortiz (62')
- 11 Maximiliano Meza (62')
- 27 Luis Romo
- 9 Germán Berterame
- 14 Erick Aguirre (88')
- 7 Rogelio Funes Mori (62')
- Substitutes
- 20 Sebastián Vegas
- 18 Axel Said Grijalva
- 29 Aguirre (62')
- 5 Omar Govea (62')
- 42 Fernando Hernández
- 19 Jordi Cortizo (62')
- 8 Joao Rojas López (81')
- 62 Iván Tona
- 47 Ali Ávila (88')
- 23 Luis Sánchez
- 1 Guzmán
- 19 Guido Pizarro
- 20 Aquino
- 14 Jesús Garza (71')
- 27 Jesús Angulo (45')
- 13 Diego Reyes (71')
- 6 Juan Vigon (71')
- 8 Fernando Gorriaran (56')
- 5 Rafael Carioca
- 17 Francisco Córdova
- 10 Gignac
- Substitutes
- 11 Nico López (71')
- 32 Vladimir Loroña
- 2 Igor Lichnovsky (45')
- 16 Diego Lainez (71')
- 35 Arturo Delgado
- 22 Raymundo Fulgencio
- 9 Nicolás Ibáñez (56')
- 43 Sebastián Fierro
- 38 Fernando Ordóñez
- 23 Luis Quiñónes (71')
Substitutions
Igor Lichnovsky (45', Jesús Angulo), Nicolás Ibáñez (56', Fernando Gorriarán), Omar Govea (62', Celso Ortiz), Jordi Cortizo (62', Maximiliano Meza), Rodrigo Aguirre (62', Rogelio Funes Mori), Diego Lainez (71', Juan Vigón), Luis Quiñones (71', Diego Reyes), Nicolás López (71', Jesús Garza), Joao Rojas (81', Héctor Moreno), Ali Ávila (88', Érick Aguirre)
Goals
0-1, 78': Francisco Córdova
Cards
Referee: Luis Enrique Santander Aguirre
Maximiliano Meza (49',Yellow) Gignac (87',Yellow) Rafael Carioca (93',Yellow)