Atlas-Pumas and Leon FC-Tigres They will be the semifinals of the Apertura 2021 tournament of Mexican soccer after this weekend the keys to the quarterfinals were closed with the second leg matches.
They can’t with Tigers
On Sunday, the Monterrey Tigres advanced to the semis by beating Santos Laguna 1-0 at the Universitario Stadium, after the first leg ended 2-1 in favor of their rival. About 37 minutes into the second half, defender Carlos Salcedo appeared in the rival area and with a left foot he scored the 1-0 that Tigres needed to advance to the semifinals.
Tigres continues to be the protagonist in Mexico and is in the semifinals. EFE / Miguel Sierra
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Thus, the overall result of this tie was tied 2-2, but the university team, led by Mexican Miguel Herrera, advanced for their best position in the table at the end of the regular phase: they finished in fourth place and Santos Laguna in fifth.
They are lions
This Sunday, another of the teams that got into the semifinals was León FC, led by Argentine Ariel Holan, who beat Puebla 2-0 and will now face Tigres in the semifinals. The 25th minute was played when the Ecuadorian Ángel Mena scored the 1-0 for ‘La Fiera’ with a shot at the edge of the small area when a ball reached him that the Brazilian defender Lucas Maia could not clear.
Puma Gigliotti is part of Leon FC de Holan that will play against Tigres. EFE / Miguel Sierra
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Mena also made it 2-0 from the 12 steps he placed in the lower right corner to overcome Paraguayan goalkeeper Antony Silva, a former Huracán who saves for the Paraguayan team. Thus, the overall score for this tie was 3-2 in favor of León, who had lost 2-1 in the first leg against the team of another Argentine: Nicolás Larcamón.
What did Holan say after going to the semi-finals?
”On balance we played a great game against a very rough opponent who complicated us, but we could have beaten by more goals, because of the options we had.“, mentioned the former Defense and Justice and Independiente technician in the press conference at the end of the quarterfinal match.
Ariel Holan highlighted the work of his managers and the commitment of his substitutes.
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Holan explained that since the first leg his team could suffer less from not having failed so much in front of the rival goal. “I think it’s something we need to be vigilant about. We would have liked to get a better result from the first leg and not lose, but we must be more forceful if we do not want to suffer that way“he added.
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The Argentine also congratulated the players who had their participation in the second half as a replacement for the team: “I want to rescue the attitude of the whole team, especially the substitutes and everyone in general, because they worked hard to achieve this step, but now the most important thing comes“.
The three Argentine technicians who will seek the title
Ariel Holan, Diego Cocca and Andrés Lillini are the ones who will lead their teams in the semifinals of the Mexican Apertura. In addition to Holan, Diego Cocca qualified on Saturday with Atlas after a tough series against Monterrey, drawing 0-0 and 1-1 respectively, and advancing to the semis for the position in the regular table.
Cocca’s Atlas eliminated Monterrey, champion of the Concachampions. EFE / Francisco Guasco
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For its part, Lillini eliminated with his Pumas, in another clash of Argentine technicians, the America of Santiago Solari, being the most surprising result of the quarterfinals, given that the Azteca local team had finished first in the regular phase and the Pumas eleventh. The first leg was a 0-0 draw and the return leg was a 3-1 away win.
Andrés Lillini won the arm wrestling against América de Solari. Photo: Pumas UNAM.
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The only coach who is not Argentine is the Mexican Miguel Herrera, coach of the Monterrey Tigres. Will an Argentine DT raise the cup?