Toluca threw away a seemingly certain victory as they fell 3-2 to Santos Laguna at the Estadio Nemesio Diez. A stoppage-time winner from Francisco Villalba completed a comeback that leaves a bitter taste for the Red Devils, despite them retaining top spot in Liga MX.
Federico Viñas opened the scoring in the 25th minute from an Alexis Vega pass, and the same Vega assisted João Paulo for a 2-0 home lead before the break. However, Ezequiel Bullaude pulled one back for Santos in the 45+1st minute, a goal that shifted the momentum of the match. The visitors' pressure told when Kevin Palacios equalised with five minutes of normal time remaining, assisted by the eventual hero, Villalba. In the fifth minute of added time, a cross from Mauricio Cuevas found Villalba, who sealed the win for La Comarca.
Table context
The defeat does not cost Toluca first place, as they hold 19 points from nine matchdays, one more than Guadalajara. The team maintains a positive run of four wins in their last five outings, including convincing victories over Atlas and Monterrey.
Santos Laguna president Aleco Irarragorri celebrated the win emphatically from the stadium's executive boxes. Sources close to him noted that he did not hide his joy upon seeing the squad heading to the dressing rooms. Irarragorri had faced public criticism in prior weeks for his attitude during a poor run of six consecutive defeats for his club.
For the Devils, focus now turns to the next away fixture against fourth-placed Cruz Azul on September 26. Forward Federico Viñas, who scored on the night, is the team's top scorer this season with four goals. The full regular season schedule is available in our fixtures section.
Read the full report at Record MX
