Vucetich warns Rayados are not in Liga MX final yet
Monterrey’s coach was satisfied with the result from the first leg of the Clásico Regio semi-finals, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
The 1-1 draw against Tigres left Rayados in a good position from the first leg of the 2023 Clausura semi-final. The two teams will meet again on Saturday to decide who advances to the Grand Final of Mexican soccer, this time Monterrey will be playing front of their own fans. However, coach Víctor Manuel Vucetich insists that the tie is far from over and there is still a job to be done at BBVA stadium.
“The intention wasn’t to draw but of course, I thought it was a good game. We played as we usually do, the same as always, with four players permanently up-front. We were lucky to get the goal and overall, the game was tense, hard-fought and they scored during a moment when we stopped tightly marking them,” the coach said after the game. ”We have some aspects that we need to correct before the return leg and, if we can sort that out, we can perform better and hopefully reach our objective, which is to advance to the final”.
What did Rayados lack on the night?
“A little bit of patience, I think better ball handling. Our goalkeeper had practically nothing to do, and that gives us peace of mind in that the defensive part of our game is working well. We lacked a little more mobility in front, it was a bit of a struggle whenever we got to their end of the pitch”
Strategy for the return leg…
“Our plan now is to do as much damage as we can -that’s obvious at this stage of the tournament. We have to win, make sure we don’t concede a goal, go out looking to score ourselves... it’s all about attacking well and defending well. They will be up for a fight, they fought us for every inch of the pitch. There were few chances for both sides and that speaks alot about the struggle that took place”.
Level going into the return leg, the same as in the quarter-finals.
“We are in similar position to what we had against Santos. Now we have to play with the same conviction that we done at home, with the support of our people. I think that this time, the team will have go one better. We will go out to win, not for a draw - we are looking for a favourable result that will take us through”.