Pachuca and Mazatlán maintain their chances of entering the “play-in” phase in the Apertura tournament of Mexican soccer after winning their respective matches on Friday on the seventeenth and final day of the regular season.
Mazatlán beat Toluca 1-0, while Pachuca came back and defeated Tijuana 3-2 as a visitor, placing them momentarily in seventh and ninth place, respectively. But they will have to wait for the results of the other matches of the day to know their fate.
The clubs that occupy seventh to tenth place at the end of the regular season enter the “play-in”, where the seventh will face the eighth and the ninth against the tenth. The winner of the first series will advance to the quarterfinals, while the loser will play the winner of the second series to define the last invitee to the postseason.
The clubs that occupy the first six places at the end of the regular season qualify directly for the postseason or league. América, Monterrey, Tigres UANL and Guadalajara have already secured their place in the quarterfinals.
Mazatlán beat Toluca 1-0 with a goal from Ecuadorian Jefferson Intriago, who scored in the 68th minute with a powerful shot inside the area after receiving a pass from Paraguayan David Colman.
Meanwhile, Pachuca overcame an initial deficit to beat the “Xoloitzcuintles” of Tijuana 3-2 with a hat trick from Erick Sánchez.
Tijuana took the lead in the 45th minute when Fernando Madrigal anticipated a defender to finish off a cross sent by Argentine Domingo Blanco from the right sector.
Pachuca equalized in the 53rd through Sánchez, who scored with his left foot inside the area after eluding a defender inside the area.
Sánchez scored again in the 59th minute with a colorful overhead kick inside the area after controlling a cross sent from the right sector with his chest.
The Mexican midfielder scored his hat trick in the 71st minute when he hit the ball against the left post with a left-footed shot from outside the area.
Tijuana came close to scoring the second goal in the 76th minute with a shot by Canadian Lucas Cavallini that hit the right post.
Tijuana, which was left without the possibility of advancing to the final phase, scored the second goal in the 81st minute through Kevin Castañeda, who put the ball in the left corner after taking a penalty kick.
In the other match on Friday, Atlas and Necaxa, who no longer had any chance of entering the final phase, tied 0-0.
On Saturday the matches will be played between Atlético de San Luis-Santos Laguna, Querétaro-Monterrey, Pumas UNAM-Guadalajara and Tigres UANL-América.
The day will be completed on Sunday with the matches between Cruz Azul-Puebla and León-Bravos de Ciudad Juárez. (Reporting by Carlos Calvo Pacheco)
Source: Ambito
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