Pachuca leaves Juárez pointless with commanding win at the Benito Juárez

Estadio Olímpico Benito Juárez was once again the scene of a bitter afternoon for the home side. Juárez fell 0-2 to Pachuca, and the result leaves the Bravos with 0 points from 7 matches in Liga MX, still without a single win or draw to their name. Pachuca, for its part, picked up three points that move it closer to the middle of the table, though its own season hasn't exactly been rock solid either.

The first half was even and choppy, with more fouls than clear-cut chances. Jairo Torres had a couple of tries for Juárez, while Kenedy and Christian Rivera tested their luck from outside the box for Pachuca without seriously troubling the home goalkeeper. The teams went into halftime scoreless at 0-0, a fairly accurate reflection of what the match had shown up to that point.

The second half changes everything

Things opened up almost as soon as the second half began. In the 52nd minute, Salomón Rondón finished from point-blank range with his left foot after a cross from Carlos Sánchez, making it 0-1. Rondón had already given warning signs before that goal with several shots that went narrowly wide, so the opener didn't come as a total surprise.

Juárez tried to respond. Madson had a low shot saved near the goal and then another that went just wide, and Monchu also tested his luck from outside the box late on, but the home side's finishing was off all night in the second half.

Deep into stoppage time, with the match stretched out by the eight extra minutes signaled by the fourth official, Alán Bautista, who had come on as a substitute, finished with his right foot from the center of the box to make it 0-2 in the 99th minute, sealing the result.

The numbers behind the match

Possession was fairly even, with Juárez even edging Pachuca in that category, but Pachuca was more effective and more dangerous where it counts: near the opposing goal.

Our expected goals estimate, based on the shots taken in the match, also favors the visitors: 1.727 for Pachuca against 0.89 for Juárez, a gap largely explained by the quality of the chances Rondón created both before and after his goal.

Beforehand, we had projected a closer match than what actually unfolded: we gave Pachuca a 45% chance of winning, Juárez 28%, and a draw 27%, with a combined expected goals total of 2.89. The outcome ended up matching the favorite in that projection, though the final scoreline came in below that combined goals figure.

What the match leaves behind

For Juárez, the main problem remains its lack of attacking output: just one shot on target in the entire match sums up the issue. The team sits at the bottom of the table, still without a win or a draw so far in the tournament. Pachuca, meanwhile, walks away with a win that keeps it picking up points in the middle of the standings, with Rondón the standout both for his goal and for the chances he created throughout the match.