Santos Laguna surprised locals and strangers after eliminating Pachuca in the playoffs and getting their ticket to the Liga MX Clausura 2023 tournament league. Los Guerreros defeated Los Tuzos in a dramatic penalty shootout and now they know who their rival will be in the quarterfinals.
The albiverde team, which finished the regular phase in the 13th position of the table, will face Monterrey, the super leader of the competition. Despite the fact that there are still a couple more games to play in the playoffs, this series is fully defined and will not change despite the different combinations that may occur this Sunday.
We have a rival! ??⚽
We will face Santos Laguna in the Quarterfinals. ??
UP MONTERREY! ??? pic.twitter.com/KZViN6ShuT
– Rayados (@Rayados) May 7, 2023
Monterrey will receive Santos Laguna at the Gigante de Acero on Wednesday May 10 and will visit the Santos Modelo Territory on Saturday the 13th. On paper, the team led by Víctor Manuel Vucetich seems the clear favorite to advance to the next round, but in the Liga MX almost anything can happen.
On matchday 15 of the Clausura 2023, Rayados and Santos met at the BBVA Stadium. Surprisingly, the Guerreros, still under the command of Eduardo Fentanes, defeated the Albiazules by a score of 1-2, with goals from Juan Brunetta and Harold Preciado.
Monterrey finished in the first position of the table with 40 points, while Santos finished in 13th place with 19 points. That is, between both squads there was a difference of 21 units.
The Torreón team qualified for the playoffs because Querétaro, a squad that was ranked 12th, finished at the bottom of the table of quotients and the Liga MX regulations prohibit a club in that situation from accessing the postseason.
