Torque beats Liverpool 3-1 with a man down, stays atop the Clausura

Winning with a man down for a good chunk of the second half is no small feat, though Marcelo Mendez would rather talk about deserved justice than personal credit. His Montevideo City Torque side beat Liverpool 3-1 at the Estadio Charrua in matchday six of the Torneo Clausura, and the coach took his time afterward to go over every detail of a match that got tougher than expected.

The result leaves the Citizens atop the standings with 100 percent of the points and, to make things even better, with a game still in hand. It's a stat that invites optimism, but Mendez is handling it calmly, already looking ahead to what's next.

Now we can really think about Thursday against Cienciano. We're happy with the win, we faced a great opponent and we were fair winnersMarcelo Mendez

That mention of the upcoming match is no coincidence: the team is also fully immersed in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana, and the schedule leaves no room to breathe. But before looking ahead, the coach wanted to explain how the match against the Black and Whites unfolded, a game that had a bit of everything.

The gameplan worked from the start. Torque settled in comfortably, controlled the pace, and it looked like the outcome was already written. However, Taran's red card flipped the script midway through and forced the team to defend its lead with ten men, something Liverpool took advantage of to get back into the game.

A match that turned into an uphill battle

Mendez was clear in describing those uncertain minutes, when the opponent pushed hard and found a way through.

We knew it was going to be really tough. In the first half we did things very well, we built a nice lead and had things under control, then Taran's red card came and complicated things a bit, and it was only natural for the opponent to come at us. They pulled one back, but with a few changes we were able to hold onMarcelo Mendez

That final stretch, with the substitutes coming on and the team holding firm, ended up making the difference between taking all three points or lamenting dropped ones. And that's when the coach returned to a subject that matters especially to him: how his squad manages to keep up its level match after match, even with rotations.

For Mendez, individual performances mean nothing without a collective effort behind them. That's how he framed it when asked about the team's consistent output despite the changes in the starting lineup.

For individual performances to stand out, there has to be a collective effort behind it, this is a great moment for the team and we feel represented by the players, that's the most important thing for a coach and we're proud of itMarcelo Mendez

And along the same lines, he wrapped up by deflecting credit from himself and putting the focus where, in his view, it belongs: the locker room.

The players, I have nothing to do with it. There's a lot of commitment from the players, without that no coach is worth anything. I don't know how long it will last, but we're going to give our best in every competition we have ahead of usMarcelo Mendez

With the top spot secured and a game in hand tucked away, Torque now heads into a demanding stretch, with Cienciano knocking on the door Thursday and the Sudamericana looming as a constant backdrop.