Santos Laguna edges Pachuca 1-0 on penalty after double VAR review

The only goal of the match came from the penalty spot, but not before the VAR booth got involved twice within a few minutes. With that 1-0, Santos Laguna took all three points against Pachuca at Estadio Corona, in a Liga MX clash that was decided right at the edge of halftime.

The home side controlled much of the first half, pressing insistently down the flanks. Ezequiel Bullaude was a constant threat, testing the Pachuca goal repeatedly from outside the box and with headers as well, without finding the net but keeping Pachuca on the back foot throughout. Diego Gonzalez also had his moments, forcing several saves out of the visiting goalkeeper. Pachuca, for its part, answered through Nicolas Vallejo and Mauricio Isais, who both generated some danger, though without the same cutting edge Santos Laguna showed in the opening stretch.

The turning point came right as the first half wound down. In the 38th minute, VAR reviewed a play inside the box and ruled that there was no penalty for Santos Laguna. But the story flipped just six minutes later: after a foul on Esteban Lozano inside the area, the referee went back to the monitor and this time did award the penalty, in the 44th minute. With stoppage time already underway, in the 47th minute, Fran Villalba stepped up and finished with his right foot, low and just inside the left post, for the 1-0 that stood at the break.

The second half cooled off in terms of goals, though not in terms of chances. Pachuca made early changes, bringing on Oussama Idrissi and Rodolfo Pizarro right at the start of the half in search of more punch up front. Salomon Rondon and Idrissi himself both had looks at goal, but neither could find the target. Santos Laguna, with Bullaude still probing and with the introductions of Eduardo Aguirre, Ramiro Sordo and Aldo Lopez, managed the lead without major scares through to the finish, even playing through ten added minutes after an injury to Efrain Orona.

What the numbers say

Santos Laguna were on top in terms of possession and overall attacking volume, something reflected in the match stats:

The xG numbers generated in the match, calculated after the fact based on shot locations, also back up the home side's dominance: 1.924 for Santos Laguna against 1.049 for Pachuca. Oddly enough, the final score ended up narrower than those figures would suggest, largely because Bullaude was unable to turn his chances into goals.

The result also ran counter to what was projected before kickoff. Pre-match odds gave Santos Laguna just a 21% chance of winning, compared to 51% for Pachuca and 28% for a draw, with expected goals of 1.01 for the home side and 1.66 for the visitors. None of that played out: the favorite on paper failed to score, and the home team walked away with the win on a lone penalty.

What the result means in the standings

In the Liga MX table, the win puts Santos Laguna on 10 points, while Pachuca sits on 12, just 2 points apart. Neither side is going through a good stretch in the tournament, and this result only shuffles things slightly near the bottom of the table without fundamentally changing either team's situation.