Arturo González was not even supposed to start for Monterrey Saturday night, but when Rodolfo Pizarro called in sick, “Ponchito” answered the bell.
“Ponchito” responded with a hat trick and added an assist (just 4 minutes into the match) to lead the Rayados to a 5-1 victory over visiting León.
Also making a star turn was goalie Luis “Mochis” Cárdenas. The team’s back-up keeper made a sparkling save with the score 3-1 then swatted away another goal-bound shot a few minutes later. Cárdenas ended the night with 4 big saves.
The result allows Monterrey to climb back atop the Liga MX table pending the outcome of the Pachuca-Tigres match on Sunday.
Chivas still winless in Liga MX
On Friday night, Guadalajara’s crisis deepened as “El Rebaño Sagrado” fell to 0-5-2 on the season, losing at Mazatlán FC. The 2-1 win was the first for the Cañoneros, leaving the Chivas and Querétaro as the only Liga MX clubs without a “W.”
Seven minutes after Guadalajara was reduced to 10 men, the hosts took the lead when Emilio Sánchez headed home from the edge of the 6-yard box. Sánchez was lucky to still be in the game after escaping a second yellow card.
Not long after, Guadalajara caught a break when ref Jorge Camacho gifted the visitors with a penalty. Mazatlán keeper Nicolás Vikonis stopped the spot kick but Ángel Zaldívar recovered to knock home the rebound and the teams were even after 78 minutes.
Former Chivas defender won the game for “The Purple Gang” off a free kick in minute 87, lifting Mazatlán (15th place) above floundering Guadalajara (16th) in the Liga MX table.
On Thursday night, two-time defending Liga MX champs Atlas ended a three-game losing streak to claim just its second win of the season. The Zorros defeated Querétaro 3-1, keeping the Gallos Blancis in the Liga MX cellar. With the win, Atlas finds itself in 14th place, a far cry from the past two seasons which saw them qualify for the Liga MX playoffs with a No. 2 seed (Guardianes 2021) and a No. 3 seed (Clausura 2022).