San Luis struck first when they defeated Monterrey by a 2-1 score. San Luis continued their dominance at home although they one goal lead will be tough to defend in the 2nd leg in Monterrey. Monterrey looked out of it in the first half and although they improved in their performance in the 2nd, they were clearly the inferior team on Wednesday. The 2nd leg will be played on Saturday night in Monterrey.
The 1st half started with Monterrey having the return of Hector Moreno to the starting 11 while Fidel Ambriz took the spot of Iker Fimbres. San Luis had an offensive lineup with Vitinho and Leonardo Bonatini up top. After reaching a long ball in the area, German Berterame got off a right footed shot that went wide. A cross into the area was just out of reach of Sebastien Salles-Lamonge. A great pass into the area found Bonatini but his left footed shot went wide. San Luis was dominating possession against a Monterrey side that looked too defensive and was maybe trying to get a tie to take home for the 2nd leg. A cross into the area was headed by Juan Sanabria, forcing a save from Monterrey’s goalkeeper, Luis Cardenas. The ball went right into the path of Leo Bonatini, who got a left footed shot past Cardenas to score and give San Luis the 1-0 lead. There was some controversy if Sanabria had been offside when he got to the ball but nothing was called and the goal stood. After winning the ball in the area, Lucas Ocampos looked to be tripped and said that San Luis’ goalkeeper, Andres Sanchez, had pushed him. Nothing was given even after checking with VAR. The halftime whistle blew and San Luis took a deserved lead over a very poor Monterrey.
The 2nd half started with Monterrey subbing out Oliver Torres and Fidel Ambriz for Roberto de la Rosa and Iker Fimbres. De la Rosa would get off a great right footed shot from outside the area and it would go wide. Salles-Lamonge got off a right footed shot that was saved b Cardenas. After getting the ball in the area, Bonatini got off a low cross that went past Monterrey’s defense but Vitinho, who had a wide open net chance, failed to score after whiffing on the ball in a terrible miss. He tried then to back heel a shot but Moreno was there to clear the ball with a sliding clearance. A minute later a cross into the area was just mised by Bonatini on his header on another bad miss. After a failed clearance from Julio Cesar Dominguez, De la Rosa had a great chance but his left footed shot went wide. After San Luis lost the ball in the middle of the field, De la Rosa would make a great pass for Sergio Canales to go on a 1 vs 1. Canales made a great run and then passed the ball into the path of German Berterame, who easily got a low shot past Sanchez to score and tie the match at 1-1. San Luis paid dearly for those clear opportunities they missed. San Luis subbed out Sebastien Salles-Lamonge and Julio Cesar Dominguez for Javier Guemez and Cristiano Piccini. A cross into the area was headed just wide by Bonatini. That ball was slightly deflected by Moreno, saving it from going in. After a run, German Berterame fell to the ground injured and had to be subbed out for Johan Rojas. After getting the ball outside the area, Ricardo Chavez would make a great move to get himself past Gerardo Arteaga and then got off an amazing left footed shot that went past Cardenas to score and give San Luis the 2-1 lead. It was an incredible shot that rocked Monterrey and once again San Luis had the lead. A cross into the area was volleyed by Vitinho but Cardenas would make a wonderful save. San Luis subbed out Vitinho for Luis Najera. Sanabria would get into the area but his right footed shot was deflected wide. Monterrey subbed out Erick Aguirre for Stefan Medina. Another left footed shot from Sanabria would go right to Cardenas. San Luis subbed out Leo Bonatini and Eduardo Aguila for Yan Phillipe and Daniel Guillen. Monterrey battle for the final minutes to get that tying goal but they failed to even get off a shot and San Luis won the first match in the series.
San Luis continued to strike fear at home in Liga MX with a 2-1 victory in their first leg of their 2024 Apertura Semifinals. San Luis continues with an undefeated record at home in which they have won every single match but one in the 2024 Apertura. Monterrey gave a poor display, surprising after giving a very good performance in their away match on Sunday. Still with Monterrey holding the tie breaker and San Luis only having a one goal advantage, the series remains up in the air for both side. While it’s true that San Luis already went to Monterrey and got a tie against Tigres on Sunday, they needed a great performance from Sanchez and a lot of luck to get the scoreless tie and it will be a lot more difficult on Saturday, especially since Tigres needed to win by three goals while Rayados only needs to win by one. Yet it should be a very exciting match as both teams play for that ticket to the final.