đŸ Pumas advance, but is their roar worse than their scratch?
Last night was a pelicula. PLUS: Chivas' teenage hero + more from the Liga MX weekend
It was over. Pumas had scored three goals on América - again.
But rather than learning the lessons from the first leg, when América rallied from two goals down to secure a 3-3 stalemate, Pumas manager Efrain Juarez eased off the gas and settled his team into a defensive posture. América picked apart the low block and was back within a goal by the 40th minute - and nearly ahead on a set piece goal called back for offside just before the halftime break.
Pumas held on for most of the second half, though its grip on the game grew shakier and shakier.
It looked like it would all fall apart in the 87th minute when Henry Martin stepped up to the penalty spot. Instead, his shot smashed off the goal post to Keylor Navasâ right, saving Pumas from a disastrous first-round elimination and soccer fans all over North America from years of discourse about AmĂ©rica getting another cheap penalty in a knockout game against a Mexico City rival.
Juarez has built Pumas in his own image, a hard-charging man willing to do anything to get a victory and one who relies on strength and gruff more than tact and wit when it comes to a scrap. But for all the tough talk, Pumas shrank back in both games, and Juarezâs tactics showed a coach that was more worried about holding on that getting at AmĂ©rica once again and causing more damage.
Asked after the match if his own inexperience as a manager or his teamâs lack of previous success, Juarez referenced AC Milanâs collapse in the UEFA Champions League final against Liverpool when an experienced squad was unable to keep a fresher side from rallying.
âTell me a young Mexican manager who has been champion in MLS, champion in Belgium, champion in Colombia and now weâre in the semifinals,â Juarez said. âExperience is things youâve lived. Here, we have to get better because we canât cover our eyes, but itâs also true the team is doing incredible things, which we have to keep repeating more often on the field. After, you have to hold on.â
Maybe Juarez has a point, and focusing on what Pumas did wrong misses what they did right. Their aggressive nature in the first half-hour of both legs set up instant classics in both games and gifted fans a quarterfinal series that will stay in the memory for even longer than any sort of penalty injustice.
Even Juarez himself, well-traveled as he is in the sport, seemed to get swept up as he reflected on the gameâs ebbs and flows.
âIf Iâd told you theyâd get a penalty to eliminate us in the 87th minute, they miss it? Itâs beautiful. Itâs a movie,â Juarez said. âWhen Efrain Juarez is here, itâs a movie.â
Number 226 on the lineup sheet, number 1 in your hearts
After all the noise and drama surrounding the five Chivas players missing for the quarterfinal series because of Mexico national team duty, Gabriel Milito needed someone to step up.
Hormiga Gonzalez wasnât there to be there hero up top. Raul Rangel wasnât there to do it at the back.
But Chivas got a hero in the form of an 18-year-old, delightfully wearing number 226 on his back as part of Liga MXâs numbering system that sees academy players wear three-digit numbers.
In the 77th minute, it was Santiago Sandoval redirecting a shot from Ricardo MarĂn after a long throw-in for the first goal of the game. Three minutes later, they had to figure out how to fit a three-digit number on a goal graphic once again as Sandovalâs near post header bounced past Tigres goalkeeper Nahuel Guzman and in.
The 2-0 result was exactly what Chivas needed, with back-up goalkeeper Ăscar Whalley chipping in with a trio of saves as well.
âYou have to believe,â Milito said. âBeyond the adversities that sometimes you have to go through in soccer ⊠we always kept up confidence and believing we could do it within our internal group. We knew it had to be a very, very good game, the level the players showed, to get into the semifinals.â
Chivas now will need more heroic performances from unlikely places to continue advancing, but perhaps that belief and performances like the ones they got from Sandoval will be able to push them to a very unlikely championship.
La Maquina make it look easy
Compared to the top two seeds, who got through in dramatic fashion thanks to a better regular season finish, Cruz Azul cake-walked into the semifinals with a 4-2 aggregate win.
It was 1-0 at the Estadio Azteca on Saturday, with Jose Paradela beating his defender thanks to a crafty touch to receive a kick from the goalkeeper, skipping past Atlas center back Rodrigo Schlegel and firing in for a lovely opener.
This is the danger of Cruz Azul, a team that even with an interim manager is happy to beat you 1-0 with a direct goal or to win 4-3 keeping the ball, probing and eventually finding a goal from a set piece.
âThe team knows a really tough stage is coming, very complicated, and weâre waiting for the opponent,â that interim boss, Joel Huiqui, said after the game. âWeâre ready to take on the next challenge and show our face for our fan base in this last stage.â
There actually was a controversial no-call in this game, with an Aldo Rocha shot attempt hitting the hand of Cruz Azul left back Omar Campos in the area. But the referees ruled he had not made his body bigger, with his hand hanging in a natural position.
Not sure about that one, but I hate the current handball laws. Maybe Arsene Wenger can help with that instead of the dynamic offside thing, right Canada?
Tolucaâs title ⊠defense? ⊠ends
The league hasnât bothered to upload their highlight yet, so this may be more rights-restricted than most highlights I post. Sorry, Canada!
Toluca came into the Liguilla defending its title for the second time. But unlike in the Apertura, Toluca wasnât going all out for this one.
After winning the second leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinal, Toluca tripled-down on its push for that trophy.
Already missing attacker Alexis Vega and left back Jesus Gallardo, Toluca manager Antonio Mohamed didnât have star forward Paulinho travel in the squad. Typical starting winger Helinho came in for cameo, with Mohamed saying those players plus Alexis Canelo had knocks. Franco Rossi and center back Everardo Lopez suffered injuries during the game with Rossi hurting his shoulder area and exiting and Lopez sustaining a knee injury.
Tuzos took advantage, using their experience and full squad to move on where they can pose a challenge for Pumas in the next round.
This was yet another game with a controversial penalty call, as Enner Valencia went to the spot after going down far too easily in the 8th minute and converted his penalty in the 10th to put Pachuca up 2-0 on aggregate.
It seemed to be the dagger for a Toluca team that already was considering surrender.
âThere are still three long weeks. They were better in the series. They beat us well, but the penalty conditions everything - in todayâs game too,â Mohamed said. âItâs the same referee from San Luis where in that game there was a penalty for us that didnât get called, today itâs the opposite. They rewarded him with the Liguilla.
âBut I think Pachuca was better than us, you have to know how to accept it when you lose. Congrats to the opponent, and weâll recover players for the goal we have: Winning Concacaf.â
Next up
The semifinals are set with Pumas meeting Pachuca and Chivas facing Cruz Azul.
One series will go Wednesday-Saturday with the other Thursday-Sunday. Weâll find out dates, times and sites later today.
Is the Conca-catch-up, uh, still in there?
I will get a Conca-catch-up out this week with updates on the playoffs in Central American leagues, national teams in that subregion and some notes from the Caribbean as well.
Thanks for your patience & for subscribing to Getting CONCACAFed!