Tigres beat Monterrey and become the first finalists of the Clausura 2023
Rayados hosted archrivals Tigres after having tied in the first leg of the semifinals of the Clausura 2023. It was the most important match played against Tigres in the BBVA Stadium since the final that Tigres won back in 2017.
The game itself was intense but muddy, both because of the weather which brought some rain and because both teams put in a lot of effort, but not much good football. The first approximation came precisely after a mistake by Nahuel Guzman, who at the 8’ got a support pass form Fernando Gorriaran, but tried to control the ball with his feet and lost control of it. Rogelio Funes Mori was meandering the area and almost stole the ball from Nahuel, but the keeper pounced on it at the last minute, redeeming himself from his previous mistake. It would be far from the first time that Nahuel puts Tigres fans on the edge of their seats, but at least this time it didn’t cost them a goal.
The next chance came in at the 14’ when German Berterame got a ball in the box after a cross from the left, but the ball went too far up. Four minutes later Maxi Meza took a free kick that passed just above the crossbar.
Funes Mori cracks his head open
At the 27’ Monterrey was going on the offensive through the middle of the field, when Jesus Angulo and Funes Mori were battling to get a high ball just outside the box. Both players went head first towards the ball, and they collided with each other. Funes Mori got the worst part of the impact as lots of blood came out of his head. Luckily the Argentinean/Mexican striker was able to return to the match after about ten minutes. He would end up withdrawing the game altogether during the second half.
For the second half, the weather decided to become a main character, as it started raining heavily during the halftime. The intense rain conditioned the game since it slowed down the ball and passes lost accuracy.
The next big chance for Tigres came at the 59’ after Rafael Carioca took a long distance shot that Esteban Andrada solved correctly with an impressive save. Truly one of those saves that are as valuable as a goal.
Siboldi puts ‘all the meat on the grill’
The game remained tense and fought in the midfield, with few chances for both teams, save long distance shots and balls that meandered inside the box, but without major danger for either goalie. At this point (70’), Robert Dante Siboldi put in all his offensive arsenal, with Nico López, Diego Lainez and Luis Quiñones coming in for Jesús Garza, Juan Pablo Vigón and Diego Reyes.
Monterrey would take good advantage of all the spaces left by Tigres, who started to attack without minding their defense much. At this point Monterrey came close to score but the Tigres defense took the ball off from Erik Aguirre at the last minute. In the ensuing corner around the 73’, the ball ended up in front of Hector Moreno who simply had to walk with the ball inside the goal to bring relief to all the Monterrey fans in the stadium.
Much to Monterrey’s dismay, the goal was invalidated by the VAR, and when the game resumed, Tigres started to knit a nice play through the middle and then wide open on the right with Quinones, who crossed to Sebastian Cordova. Cordova would find himself almost alone inside the box, and with a deadly header scored the first goal of the night, and his fourth during these playoffs.
Monterrey went all in to try to get the goal that would get them to the final, but couldn’t net anything despite trying. At the 94’ they had their last chance when Jordi Cortizo found the ball inside the box and took a shot on target, but Javier Aquino’s leg saved TIgres just before the final whistle.
Another heartbreak for Rayados and their loyal supporters, who again saw their city rivals celebrate in their own home. Now Tigres await for the other finalist to be decided in another Clasico: Chivas-America.
