World News – US League MX Playoffs: Monterrey Spotlight on Sunday

Rogelio Funes Mori is the focus of the Rayados attack. (Photo by Alfredo Lopez / Jam Media / Getty Images)

Most Liga MX fans believe that the outcome of Sunday’s “Repechaje” competitions is a foregone conclusion. After all, the two highly regarded “Regiomontano” clubs host the two lowest seeds in the postseason.

The Tigres with the sixth seed greet the Diablos with the eleventh seed from Toluca at 7 pm in « El Volcán » and No.. 12 Puebla will take the field at the Estadio BBVA Bancomer de Monterrey to face the Rayados with the fifth seed in a nightcap.

While the Tigres and Monterrey fought for a top 4 starting place and a reunion in the first round all season, their opponents were only able to secure a place in the playoffs on the last weekend of the Guardianes 2020.

The visitors are strong outsiders, and a look at the teams’ payrolls makes this understandable.

Monterrey has the largest payroll in the League MX at $ 82. $ 1 million – almost four times the size of Puebla’s ($ 21). $ 7 million). Though not as dramatic, the Tigres’ payroll ($ 66 million) dwarfs that of their opponent (Toluca has a $ 26 million payroll). .

So why watch, one might ask. Well, none of the favorites lived up to their high reputation and there is no end to either Toluca or Puebla, both of which can be described as seedy teams.

Toluca defeated the Tigres in their only encounter this season, scoring an added-time goal from Alexis Canelo to claim a 3-2 win. Of course, you are right to point out that the Tigres were without All Liga MX goalkeeper Nahuel Guzmán, who was quarantined under the contract with Covid-19.

And the Rayados mistreated Puebla in October. 17 in a competition on 14. Matchday, which built a 3-0 lead before the 50-minute mark. But the Camoteros fought back and scored a goal in minute 67. A few minutes later, they were denied another penalty that could have turned it into a 1-goal game with 10 minutes of play time.

Toluca’s chances on the shoulders of veteran playmaker Rubens Sambueza and the Tigres will undoubtedly send waves of defenders on him to limit his space and block his passing lanes. Forward Alexis Canelo will also get a lot of attention.

The Tigres will depend on striker André-Pierre Gignac as usual, but coach Ricardo Ferretti will hope that one of his team-mates will make a playoff here. Candidates are Nico López and Leo Fernández, young strikers who found more playing time over the course of the season.

Ferretti has a deep bench so it will be interesting to see how patient he is with the game tied at the start of the second half. The Tigres have been lavish in front of goal all season and have been plagued by late goals. These two issues should give Toluca hope.

In the meantime, Monterrey must hope that its strong attack does not fail any further. Rogelio Funes Mori is the point man, but Ake Loba, Avilés Hurtado and Vincent Janssen have to be ready to contribute.

The Rayados will be concerned about the health of defender César Montes, who returned from service with the national team with a groin. He is expected to play but coach Antonio Mohamed will be watching his performance closely.

Puebla know they need to play an impeccable defense and will rely on the long ball and counterattack moves to score an early goal. The Camoteros need to be careful if they lose their tactical form as Monterrey can strike quickly. If Puebla have to pursue goals early on, they will get into trouble.

The Tigres were the most successful team of the decade that has just ended and the veteran heavy squad knows that its championship window will be closed. And Monterrey currently holds three titles. The Rayados are the reigning Liga MX champion (Apertura 2019), the current Copa MX champion and the Concacaf Champions League holder.

But as they say about this other sport of football – every Sunday …

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