Atlético San Luis rallies past Necaxa 3-1 with an own goal and a header double

Julián Carranza needed just nine minutes to put Necaxa up 1-0 at Estadio Libertad Financiera, a header that looked like it might set the tone for the afternoon. But Atlético San Luis turned the match around and closed it out 3-1, with an own goal and a late header sealing things for good in Liga MX.

Carranza's opener came off a free kick taken by Javier Ruiz, whose precise cross found the forward for a header just inside the post. Necaxa controlled the early going and nearly extended the lead through shots from Kevin Rosero and Alexis Peña, both well handled by the home defense. Atlético San Luis leveled things in the 26th minute when Felipe Mora headed home from close range off a David Rodríguez cross, and the 1-1 score held until halftime.

The second half told a completely different story. Just minutes after the restart, in the 53rd minute, an own goal by Christopher Andrade put Atlético San Luis up 2-1, and that goal proved to be the turning point of the match. Necaxa tried to respond with substitutions, bringing on Emilio Rodríguez, Matías Espíndola and Mauro Zaleta before the hour mark, and created danger through Alexis Peña, who clipped the crossbar in the 60th minute, but couldn't find the equalizer. The home side, meanwhile, found its third goal off a set piece: Leonardo Flores struck the post from a corner in the 80th minute, and on the same play Eduardo Águila headed in the rebound to make it 3-1, the final score.

The numbers behind the dominance

Atlético San Luis led in nearly every category: it controlled possession, created more clear-cut chances and finished with more shots on target, though Necaxa had the edge in corner kicks.

The xG generated in the match, an in-house estimate calculated from shot locations, backs up that gap: 2.311 for Atlético San Luis compared to 0.702 for Necaxa, a much wider margin than the scoreline suggested for most of the game.

The preview published ahead of kickoff gave Atlético San Luis a 43% chance of winning, 26% for a draw and 31% in favor of Necaxa, with expected goals of 1.75 for the home side and 1.47 for the visitors (3.22 combined). The final result matched the home favorite tag, though the path there had a bit of everything: a rough start, a comeback built in large part on an opposing error, and an efficient finish off a set piece.

What it means in the standings

In the Liga MX table, Atlético San Luis came into this match in 13th place with 9 points from 9 games played (2 wins, 3 draws and 4 losses), while Necaxa sat 15th with 8 points also from 9 games (2 wins, 2 draws and 5 losses), just one point behind their opponent. With this result, Atlético San Luis picks up a win that pulls it away from the relegation zone, while Necaxa continues searching for its footing in a tournament that has been difficult so far.