Xolos ruined Martin Demichelis' first win against Monterrey 2-2

A last-minute goal from the Colombian striker Xolos from Tijuana José Raúl “La Pantera” Zúñiga ruined what seemed like a victorious debut of the Argentine coach Martin Demichelis with the Rayados del Monterrey, who had to go home with a 2-2 draw when it seemed they already had the three points in the bag.

This goal justified an intense reaction from the border team when it seemed that Monterrey with some tactical adjustments applied by its new strategist, such as the fact of playing with two nominal nines as The newly naturalized Germán Berterame and the Mexican-American Brandon Vázquez, would take a fair victory.

In the end, both Berterame and Vázquez justified this new way of playing in the offensive front of Rayados de Monterrey. and with Jordi Cortizo having one of his best nights and who should try to play like this in most matches, he had the Xolos in a bad way for most of the match, without being able to work some adjustments by his Colombian coach Juan Carlos Osorio.

In this way, in the first half, Monterrey showed superiority to achieve the first goal. through Germán Berterame, with a header in the heart of the area at 28′after a cross from Sergio Canales, who sent it close to the right flank.

But Xolos responded immediately and six minutes later in a play where the Spaniard Sergio Canales performed marker duties, he committed a foul inside the area on Domingo Blanco that led to a penalty scored. by Colombian Christian Rivera to tie the game temporarily at 1-1 in the 34th minute.

This goal was a spur for the Rayados, who before the break went in search of revenge and got it when in the 43rd minute, Jordi Cortizo stood outside the area and with a feint pulled the mark to send a pass into the gap just at the entrance of the Mexican-American Brandon Vázquez so that the so-called ‘Superman’ could get behind the defensive line and, on the way out of goalkeeper Antonio Rodríguez, he ended up beating the home team’s goal.

With his goal, Vázquez broke a long streak without scoring and did so against the organization that was part of his training and development as a player. before standing out in Major League Soccer (MLS) and from there move on to the Rayados de Monterrey.

For the second half the Xolos improved and with tactical movements accustomed by the Colombian coach Juan Carlos Osorio to generate an adaptation of intensity and character, he sent the youngster to attack. Gilberto Mora, 15, Francisco Contreras and Raul Zuniga entered in place of Kevin Balanta, Jesus Gomez and Rivera.

This made Xolos improve, but the work of the Monterrey goalkeeper Esteban Andrada in the face of some shots, knew how to handle the situation to keep the horizon favorable for his colors, but not having an echo of his offensive in looking for the goal that could have decided the game once and for all, they were always at the mercy of what the home team did.

That is precisely what happened, forcing the Xolos to draw on their strength until the last minute of added time to go in search of a tie, something they seemed to achieve. when Gerardo Arteaga committed a handball, but it was judged by the VAR outside the areathe maximum penalty being annulled.

That gave the Rayados their soul back, but the canines never gave up until the last moment when José “La Pantera” Zúñiga scored the equalizing goal. in a great move by Jesús Vega who sent a deadly diagonal pass so that the Colombian could score the goal.

Continue reading:
-Martín Demichelis explains the reasons why he agreed to direct in Mexico
-Ricardo La Volpe warns his countryman Demichelis that it will not be easy to succeed in Monterrey
-Demichelis, Rayados’ new coach, would like to count on Orbelín Pineda: “The negotiation is still alive”

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