Santos bounces back and defeats Rayados to climb back to the top of Liga MX

Santos Laguna bounced back following their 3-0 thumping last week at the hands of Necaxa, with a convincing victory over Rayados de Monterrey.

Los Laguneros were able to take advantage of a play inside the box in the second minute of the game to take a 1-0 lead. Julio Furch scored from close range for Santos after the ball landed on his feet following a weak attempt by one of his teammates.

Only three minutes had passed before the team from La Comarca Lagunera could celebrate once more. After being put in a tight spot due to a back pass, Nicolás Sánchez made a horrendous error as he tried to clear the ball. Furch was able to take advantage of the mistake by the Monterrey defender and nearly got off a shot. However, as the Rayados defenders smothered Julio, the ball sailed towards the middle of the box and found Erick Castillo who crushed the ball into the back of the net.

The early partial result put Santos in a comfortable spot and remained dominant for most of the first half. Monterrey appeared distraught and didn’t get many clear opportunities to get one back.

In the second half, Santos continued to be the aggressor and nearly made it 3-0, but a spectacular save by Marcelo Barovero kept his team down only two goals. I urge you to watch the play below, save of the season so far.

After a few modifications in the lineup by Diego Alonso, Monterrey would finally get one back. In the 83rd minute, Dorlan Pavon had a crack at goal that Jonathan Orozco was unable to control. Vincent Janssen, however, secures his first-ever Liga MX goal on the rebound to close his team’s gap.

Despite the late boost of confidence thanks to Jenssen’s goal, the team from Nuevo Leon eventually ran out of time. With the victory, Santos temporarily climbs back to the top of the Liga MX table and will get ready to face an adamant Leon team in a crucial midweek matchup. For their part, Monterrey will take on Pumas this upcoming Thursday.