Mexico’s Toluca defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy 3-0 on Wednesday to seal their place in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup with a brace from Paulinho and a goal from Jesus Gallardo in the opening minutes of the match.
The Mexican team took the lead in the 10th minute thanks to a great strike by Gallardo, who sent the ball into the right corner to give the visitors the lead.
Paulinho sentences and Toluca imposes its authority
Paulinho’s second goal for Toluca 13 minutes into the second half put the game away by taking advantage of the total absence of LA Galaxy defenders inside the box.
Not content, the Portuguese scored again in the 64th minute, after a one-on-one with the rival goalkeeper.
With this double, he is now the top scorer of the championship.
The Red Devils masterfully managed the second leg of this tie, using their 4-2 first leg advantage to dictate the tempo of the match with absolute authority.
Through a remarkable territorial dominance, the Mexicans neutralized every attempt at a local reaction.
And it stifled the creativity of an Angeleno squad that barely found a way to impose its conditions on the pitch.
The Angelinos lacked the effectiveness with which Marco Reus and Gabriel Pec, their star players, are accustomed to surprise.
That in the first half they went almost unnoticed in creating chances.
Galaxy’s defensive fragility
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The defense of Greg Vanney’s team showed severe cracks and was overcome by the tactical order of the rival.
Mexico’s dominance almost came to an early end in the 34th minute.
Gallardo’s shot hit the crossbar and went into the goal, although the action was disallowed for offside.
At the start of the second half, Pec had the clearest chance for Los Angeles.
This was after receiving a precise service from the Argentine Julián Aude that he failed to capitalize on.
The lack of precision in this action prevented the home side from closing the gap at a key moment when they were desperate to change the dynamic of the game.
It was then that Toluca’s Paulinho took advantage of the situation to score a brace in less than ten minutes that would end any glimmer of survival for the LA Galaxy.
Diablos Rojos masterfully managed the second leg of this knockout tie
QuéOnnda.com
Technical data
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0. Los Angeles Galaxy: J T Mareinkowski; Miki Yamane, Julian Aude, Carlos Garces (46th minute: Elijah Wynder), Maya Yoshida; Edwin Carrillo (69th minute: Lucas Sanabria), Justin Haak; Marco Reus (74th minute: Isaiah Parente), Erik Thommy (68th minute: Joseph Paintsil) , Gabriel Pec and Joao Klauss (68th minute: Ruben Ramos).
Coach: Greg Vanney.
Toluca: Luis García; Diego Barbosa, Santiago Simón, Bruno Méndez (m. 82: Antonio Briseño), Everardo López, Jesús Gallardo, Helinho, Nicolás Castro (m. 83: Franco Rossi), Franco Romero, Jesús Angulo (m. 73: Marcelo Ruíz); Paulinho (m. 73: Jorge Díaz).
Trainer. Antonio Mohamed.
Goals: 0-1, 10th minute: Jesus Gallardo; 0-2, 58th minute: Paulinho; 0-3, 64th minute: Paulinho.
Referee: Mario Escobar. Yellow cards for Toluca’s Diego Barbosa and Los Angeles Galaxy’s Haak.
Incidents: First leg of the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup, held at Dignity Health Sports Park Stadium in Carson City, Los Angeles.
With information from EFE
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