Toluca have been knocked out of the Liguilla after two goals in the first half earned Monarcas Morelia a place in the 2017 Liga MX Apertura Semifinals.
The first leg ended 2-1 in favor of the Diablos Rojos, which meant Morelia needed to win to have any chance of going through to the final four.
Amid a packed Estadio Morelos, it was the Diablos Rojos who extended their lead when in only the fourth minute Fernando Uribe latched on to a superb cross to finish past Sebastian Sosa and put the aggregate score at 3-1.
Within two minutes, the hosts pulled a goal back through Peruvian international Raul Ruidiaz. The diminutive forward rose above his defender and headed home to put his side within one.
Just minutes later, it then went from bad to worse from a Toluca perspective as what appeared to be a clear offside call ended with Angel Sepulveda unleashing a stupendous bicycle kick in the back of the net.
With the second half still to play, Monarcas Morelia decided to sit back and absorb Toluca’s pressure. It was a script the hosts had to follow for the rest of the game.
Judging by coach Roberto Hernandez’s gameplan, Morelia had no intention to push forward in search of a third goal, but even a red card to Monarcas’ Miguel Sansores did little to propel Toluca to all-out attack.
At the end, despite Morelia’s reluctance to attack, there would be no spirited comeback from Toluca, as the Michoacanos join Tigres in the final four of this semester’s Liga MX tournament.