Rayados edges Aguilas in a lackluster match
The stellar match of Round 2 of the 2021 Guardianes Tournament featured Las Aguilas del America as they traveled to the north of the country to confront Rayados in Monterrey. The two teams had triumphant debuts in their opening matches and were looking for consecutive victories.
Las Aguilas started the tournament with a 2-1 victory over Atlético San Luis without Santiago Solari, who was unable to coach because he had not received his work visa. Meanwhile, Monterrey beat Atlas 2-0 with a double from striker Rogelio Funes Mori, in the return of Javier Aguirre to Mexican soccer.
On paper, it appeared that Rayados would dominate the game as they seemed to be the more talented team. In the first half, both teams lacked offense and played a defensive style, waiting to score on a counter-attack.
Funes Mori takes advantage of call
In the 35th minute, Javier Aguirre’s team was awarded a penalty kick after a controversial call by the referee as it appeared that the ball deflected off of the player’s chest into his arm.
Rayados seized the moment with the Argentine striker Funes Muri converting the penalty to put the home team up 1-0, and the teams went into their locker rooms with that same score.
The second half mirrored the 1st half as America did not generate much offense. Monterrey appeared to have parked the bus as the partial result was in their favor. Solari’s team made strong efforts to retain possession but to no avail.
In the 83rd minute, Francisco Cordova received a red card and was ejected from the game. With 10 players, it became more difficult for America to get the tie. In a last-ditch effort, an opportunity for America presented itself as Nicolas Benedetti had an opportunity to score a dynamic goal on a well-crossed play but could not make contact with the ball. The stats favored Monterrey; however, the game left a lot to be desired.
Monterrey has 2 games played and 6 points with no goals allowed and hosts Liga MX Champion Leon next week. For their part, Club America will host Juarez next week.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
El Tri Online was founded in December 2017 to serve English-speaking fans of Mexican Soccer. Our mission is to create compelling Mexican soccer content and share it via our website, streaming apps, social media, and any other medium for English-dominant Mexican-American fans of the Mexican National Team, Liga MX, and their players.
Please email us at info@eltrionline.com if you have any questions or to join the team at gigs@eltrionline.com
