The champion who forgot where the bow is
Ah, football. A sport where, according to those in the know, it is about putting the ball into the opponent’s goal. An apparently simple concept that the current monarch of Mexican soccer seems to have filed in the same folder where he keeps the recipe for success. His last stumble was not due to lack of control, God forbid! It was because of something much more mundane and tragicomic: the absolute and painful lack of forcefulness. Imagine a chef with top-notch ingredients, mastering the stove, but forgetting to salt the food. The result is a tasteless dish and a 1-0 defeat against Monterrey that tastes like glory… for the visitors.
The Red Devils of Toluca painted the field their color, they had the initiative, they probably sang more cheers… but the ball, capricious, flatly refused to go in. Their insistence on not converting was so great that they already accumulated the not inconsiderable number of 205 minutes without scoring. To put it in perspective, in that time you can watch a movie with popcorn, suffer a persistent attack of hiccups or, and this hurts, watch your lead in a semi-final disappear. The last lucky one to remember the way to the goal was Paulinho, in a time that Toluca fans now remember with the nostalgia of a distant summer (it was two games ago, but who’s counting).
The impossible mission (or not so much)
The equation for the second leg is astonishingly simple, worthy of a primary school mathematics problem: Toluca must win. An aggregate tie eliminates them, unless that tie is more than two goals, a scenario as likely as gold raining on the Nemesio Díez. The pressure is on. The menu? Pure and harsh anxiety.
But not everything is darkness on the scarlet horizon. His stronghold, his talisman, his last argument before the sports psychologist is the home field advantage. In the last 24 Liga MX duels played at home against Rayados de Monterrey, the record is so favorable that it almost seems like a hoax. A single defeat, accompanied by 12 wins and 11 draws. The last time they gave in their strength was in Clausura 2021, that is, in a prehistoric era where dinosaurs (or at least a different coach) surely roamed the sideline. The balance, indeed, hangs on his side. The million dollar question is: will they still have weights (or goals) to tilt it in their favor?
So prepare yourselves for a nervous high-voltage show. We’ll see if the champion wakes up from his scoring nap or if Monterrey, with the coldness of an accountant, simply signs the death certificate of his reign. The narrative is served: the epic resurrection or the resounding failure. There is no middle ground.
Do you think Toluca will break its scoring curse or Monterrey will take advantage of its advantage?Share your prediction and this note with the hashtag #SemifinalEscarlata and explore more analysis about the exciting final stretch of the Liga MX on our site.
