Morelia Rescue a Tie Against Leon at Home in Liguilla Opening Match thriller
The 2019 Liga MX Apertura Liguilla started off on the right foot, reminding every Mexican soccer fan why this portion of the tournament is so special. From the onset, the Morelia vs Leon matchup was poised to be an interesting one, with Leon being the 2nd best positioned team in the standings and Morelia the underdog team of the tournament. Both teams did not disappoint.
The action started early in the game, as barely 6 minutes of game time had passed when we already had on our hands a penalty situation in favor of Leon. By the 7th minute of play, they had successfully scored the penalty thanks to J.J Macias. La Fiera was up 1-0.
Barely three minutes later however, Edison Flores would score a spectacular goal for Monarcas to tie things up 1-1.
The back and forth would continue until 8 minutes later, Leon would once again score to take a 2-1 lead thanks to a quick, low shot from Angel Mena.
The game continued its normal rhythm, with both teams on the offensive, when at the 32nd minute, Edison Flores once again gave his team the tying goal. This time he was able to pick up a loose ball inside the penalty area to easily put it away for the 2-2 tie.
We had four goals total so far and the half hadn’t even finished. While the back and forth continued for both teams, it was clear that Leon had the slith advantage in the game. The half would end with those four goals, two a piece, but the second half would start with the same intensity as the first. Leon took advantage very early on, scoring in just the 2nd minute of the second half. Mexico international, Fernando Navarro, was able to pivot off a great pass, losing a defender in the process and firing off a potent shot that gave La Fiera the advantage once again.
The game took a rough turn in the second half. The high intensity level of play from both sides turned into fouls on the field. Towards the end of the second half, these fouls had turned into two red cards, one a piece for both teams. Even though both teams were handicapped and playing with 10 men each, the intensity continued and spilled into the stands, where the stadium personnel and referee had trouble controlling the crowd as they continually yelled homophobic slurs at the visiting goalie. With the new regulations in place, the head referee was forced to stop the game momentarily until things settled down. Following the pause, and after the referee added 12 minutes of additional playing time, both teams hopped back onto the field to finish out the game. And what an ending it would be. Of course, 5 goals in the game wasn’t enough, there was still one more to be made. At the 102nd minute, El Quick Mendoza came up as the hero for Morelia and scored their third goal of the night, making it a 3-3 tie.
With this, both teams leave the first leg tied at 3 a piece, and will now head to Leon, Guanajuato to see who the first semi finalist will be in this years Liguilla for the Liga MX Apertura 2019.
