Match recap: Toluca FC 3, Club Tijuana 0

Tijuana’s recent woes in the Estadio Nemesio Díez continued, as a ten-man Xolos side was shut out 3-0 by a dominant Toluca FC.

There was some controversy in the early minutes of the game as Juan Martín Lucero and Fernando Tobio got tangled up as Lucero ran in on goal, but referee Fernando Guerrero kept his whistle in his pocket and play continued.

Toluca was unafraid to shoot from distance, forcing Xolos goalkeeper Gibran Lajud to remain alert. While he did well early, it would wind up being a day Lajud will most likely look to forget.

In the 26th minute, Toluca would break through when Enrique Triverio would get his head on the end of a corner kick, beating Lajud who looked to have misread the ball as it entered the area.

In the 35th minute, Antonio Ríos would hit a spectacular free kick from about 25 yards out. Lajud broke a little late and would get his fingers on it, but the ball would deflect up into the crossbar and in, giving Toluca an early 2-0 lead.

Xolos looked to start to get their footing a bit in the second half, but that was marred in the 64th minute when Hiram Muñoz was sent off with a straight red card for a hard tackle from behind on Ernesto Vega.

Ten minutes later, Toluca would find a third when Rodrigo Salinas hit a pass to Luis Quiñones, who one-touched it on to Alexis Vega. An unmarked Vega went in on goal and beat Lajud.

Both teams have short weeks, with Toluca heading to Estadio Azteca to face Cruz Azul on Wednesday before returning home to host León on Sunday. Xolos will host Santos Laguna on Wednesday before heading to Pirata Fuente to face Veracruz on Saturday. The two teams are slated to meet again on Wednesday, September 5 in Group 2’s final match in the opening round of the Copa MX Apertura.

Toluca FC: Luis García; Cristian Borja, Fernando Tobio, Osvaldo González, Rodrigo Salinas; Luis Quiñones, William da Silva (Adolfo Domínguez, 82’), Antonio Ríos, Luis Mendoza; Ernesto Vega (Giovanny León, 80’), Enrique Triverio (Amaury Escoto, 77’)

Club Tijuana: Gibran Lajud; Luis Fuentes, Juan Carlos Valenzuela, Hiram Muñoz, Omar Mendoza (Eryc Castillo, 62’); Diego Rodríguez (Jesús Angulo, 46’), Diego González, Luis Chávez, Ignacio Rivero; Miller Bolaños (Gustavo Canto, 77’), Juan Martín Lucero

Scoring: Toluca FC - Enrique Triverio (26’), Antonio Ríos (35’), Alexis Vega (74’); Club Tijuana - None

Disciplinary: Toluca FC - Fernando Tobio (Yellow - 30’); Club Tijuana - Diego González (Yellow - 37’), Hiram Muñoz (Red, 64’)