Match recap: Tigres UANL 4, Santos Laguna 0

It appears as if Tigres has awoken from their summer slumber. La U got a brace from André-Pierre Gignac and one from Lucas Zelerayán, cruising to a victory against Santos Laguna. Tigres had eight shots on goal out of eleven shots, while Santos only managed to test Nahuel Guzmán once on ten shots.

Even without Guillermo Almada on the sidelines, Santos came out pressing early, causing turnovers and creating mismatches along the wings. Tigres was able to get a good chance in the seventh minute when Enner Valencia got a header on frame, but Jonathan Orozco stuck his big paw out and calmly swatted it down.

Tigres would break through in the 10th minute however when Luis “Chaka” Rodríguez drove to the end line and then hit a cut back pass to Lucas Zelerayán. Zelerayán hit a shot off of the under side of the crossbar that bounced off of the turf, back off of the crossbar, and then went into the back of the net.

The early goal definitely rattled Santos, and it would be several minutes before they were back in Tigres’ end. Even then, they seemed a bit in shock and weren’t able to get much going. In the 25th, am missed interception lead to A Tigres break and Valencia hit a cross to a wide-open André-Pierre Gignac. Gignac got his head onto the ball and snuck it inside the post to double Tigres’ lead.

This seemed to wake Santos up. In the 32nd, Adrián Lozano hit a shot that didn’t miss by much. In the 39th Eryc Castillo was in the box and knocked down but no call was forthcoming.

Immediately after the start of the second half, Tigres were awarded a penalty. Gignac stepped up and converted to extend the lead to three.

Tigres wasn’t done though. In the 60th, Chaka Rodríguez came down the left and took a shot that Orozco was only able to push away the ball went back across the front of goal. Gignac attempted a chilena but missed, and the ball fell to Zelerayán. Zelerayán took a touch and fired a shot that deflected off of Hugo Rodríguez and past Orozco to make it 4-0.

After that, both sides realized the match was all but over and saw the match out to the end. Referee Jorge Pérez blew the whistle immediately at the 90 minute mark, and Tigres walked off with the win.

Due to the international break, both teams have next week off. Tigres next match is in Veracruz against Tiburones Rojos on Friday, October 18. Santos Laguna’s next match is also on Friday, October 18 when they host Tijuana.

Tigres UANL: Nahuel Guzmán; Hugo Ayala, Guido Pizarro, Jorge Torres Nilo, Carlos Salcedo; Jesús Dueñas, Luis Rodríguez, Rafael de Souza, Lucas Zelerayán (Jürgen Damm, 72’); André-Pierre Gignac, Enner Valencia

Santos Laguna: Jonathan Orozco; Emilio Orrantía, Matheus Dória, Hugo Rodríguez, Gerardo Arteaga; Adrián Lozano (Eduardo Aguirre, 72’), Ulíses Rívas (Diego Valdés, 50’), Fernando Gorriarán, Brian Lozano (José Juan Vázquez, 72’); Eryc Castillo, Julio Furch

Scoring: Tigres UANL - Lucas Zelerayán (10’, 59’), André-Pierre Gignac (25’, 47’ - penalty); Santos Laguna - None

Disciplinary: Tigres UANL - Luis Rodríguez (Yellow - 45’); Santos Laguna - Emilio Orrantía (Yellow - 46’)