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Clausura 2022 Wrap: Playoffs and ‘relegation’ stories

By Thomas Buckley

León and Toluca brought the curtain down on the Liga MX regular season with a helter-skelter match that ended 4-4. (Photo by Carlos Zepeda/Jam Media/Getty Images)
León and Toluca brought the curtain down on the Liga MX regular season with a helter-skelter match that ended 4-4. (Photo by Carlos Zepeda/Jam Media/Getty Images) /
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Liga MX CL22 finales
Tuneros midfielder Andrés Iniestra laments his team’s loss Sunday. Atlético de San Luis could have secured home field for its wildcard match, but lost to Santos Laguna. (Photo by Cesar Gomez/Jam Media/Getty Images) /

Tuneros stumble in home finale

Atlético de San Luis squandered its chance to play a wildcard match at home next weekend.

The Tuneros only needed to defeat 15th-place Santos Laguna and, in fact, led the visiting Guerreros 1-0 early in the second half. A loss of concentration on defense gave room for “Los Laguneros” to react and goals by Eduardo Aguirre (52’), Brian Lozano (62’) and José Ávila relegated San Luis to 10th place and a visit to No. 7 Monterrey on Wildcard Weekend.

A victory in their home finale would have allowed the Tuneros to host Cruz Azul in a No. 8 vs No. 9 wildcard match. Even a tie would have had San Luis – as the No. 9 seed – squaring off against the Cementeros, a much more favorable draw than playing the talented Rayados.

To make matters worse, San Luis coach André Jardine was ejected in minute 82 so he will not be on the sidelines for the Tuneros’ playoff match at the Estadio BBVA Bancomer. That game is scheduled to kick off at 8 p.m. local time on Saturday, May 7.

San Luis actually defeated the Rayados in Monterrey back on Matchday 7, a loss that ended the Javier Aguirre experiment. Víctor Manuel Vucetich took over for “El Vasco” and guided the Rayados to a 6-3-3 record, restoring their status as title contenders.

For its part, Atleti is making its second consecutive playoff appearance just one year after finishing dead last in the 2020-2021 campaign. Last season, the 12th-seeded Tuneros were knocked out by No. 5 Santos Laguna in the wildcard round.

San Luis also made a coaching change this season, firing Marcelo Méndez after losing the first three games of the Clausura 2022. To the surprise of many, Jardine – the man who led Brazil to Olympic Gold in Tokyo last year – was hired, taking over the club ahead of Matchday 5 and leading “Los Rojiblancos” to a 6-2-5 record.

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