Chilean Diego Valdés, midfielder of the 'Águilas' of America, and his compatriot Joaquín Montecinos, the extreme fighter of the 'Xoloitzcuintles' of Tijuana, were key factors in the triumphs of their teams on the weekend in the eleventh matchday of the Clausura-2022 tournament of Mexican football.
In one of the worst tournaments in its history, America fell behind in the basement of the standings and on Sunday at the Azteca stadium achieved a valuable 3-0 victory over the 'Red Devils' of Toluca.
On the eve of this match, Valdes expressed his confidence in taking flight with the Eagles in the final stretch of the regular phase of the tournament to reach at least the repechage.
In the match against Toluca, the Andean steering wheel scored a spectacular free-kick goal to make the 2-0 in the 15th minute and three minutes later gave the assist for 3-0.
The Chilean was considered by Liga MX as the best player of the match because “he hung the ball from the angle, charged the attack, changed the pace and led the rout”; in the game he won three balls in the opponent's area, and had 92% accuracy in passing.
- Villain and hero -
Joaquín Montecinos spent a bitter drink and then a sweeter one in the 1-0 triumph of the Xoloitzcuintles of Tijuana over the 'Braves' of Juárez, on Sunday in a match played at the Caliente stadium between teams struggling to avoid the fines that will receive as a sanction the three teams that finish the 2021-22 cycle at the bottom of the table quotients.
Montecinos, who lives his first tournament in Mexican football, came in exchange for the second half and in the 83rd minute with 22 seconds missed a penalty, but at 84:51 he scored the winning goal by defining a counterattack that he accompanied for more than 60 meters.
For his performance, Liga MX defined Montecinos as the best player of the match because although he “missed the clearest opportunity for the Xolos, on the next play he set his sights, shot at goal and celebrated an important triumph” for Tijuana.
- French connection -
The French duo composed of winger Florian Thauvin and centre-forward André-Pierre Gignac looks increasingly decisive for the Tigers. On Saturday the two Europeans scored spectacular goals for the 2-0 triumph in the regal classic against Monterrey at the Universitario stadium.
Gignac, the best player of the match for Liga MX, scored 1-0 with a shot from outside the box in the 69th minute.
André-Pierre scored for the eighth straight game and established himself as the leader of scorers with nine goals; he also approached the record for top scorer of the northern classic by reaching 10 goals and placing one of the brand's holder, Brazilian Mario de Souza Mota 'Bahia', former Monterrey player.
For his part, Florian Thauvin scored 2-0 with a surprise centre-back shot from the right side that shrouded Argentine goalkeeper Esteban Andrada, at 76.
Thauvin became the second world champion to score a goal in a royal classic, the first being the Argentine Sergio Almirón -monarch in 1986-, also with the felines.
- They erased his smile -
In the classic tapatio played on Sunday at the Jalisco stadium, Guadalajara's' Chivas' seemed to take the win, but Colombian Julián Quiñones rescued the 1-1 draw for the Atlas' Zorros' with a headshot at 89 minutes with 58 seconds.
But the smile was wiped from the Colombian player's face at 92:24 when the referee sent him off with a direct red card for mocking the opponents with an offensive signal.
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