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Match recap: Club León 3, Santos Laguna 0

León with a statement win against a good Santos Laguna team thanks in part to a brace by Ángel Mena.

Club Santos Laguna

León got their sixth straight win in Liga MX play, downing a tough Santos Laguna team 3-0 in Guanajuato thanks to a brace by Ángel Mena.

León would come out attacking, working the ball down the field utilizing the width of the field and would test goalkeeper Jonathan Orozco with a shot in the first minute that Orozco would save easily. León would have another solid chance in the ninth minute when Luís “Chapito” Montes sent a cross in toward Vinício Angulo, but the Brazilian couldn’t quite reach it and Santos was able to defuse the danger.

In the 15th minute, León’s rising star Ángel Mena rang a shot off of the crossbar from close range. In the 24th minute it would be Joel Campbell getting a shot on goal that Jona Orozco would smother. Santos’ best chance of the first half came when Gerardo Arteaga would hit a shot with pace from just beyond the eighteen yard box that Rodolfo Cota punched away.

In the second half, it would be Santos that would start out on the front foot. Javier Correae would hit a shot that whistled just over the crossbar.

But this would change when in the 51st minute Ángel Mena would block a Matheus Doría clearance attempt. Mena would play a give and go with Jean Menenses, shooting low and far post just past an outstretched Jona Orozco.

Santos would get some good chances, but Mena would strike again in the 78th minute when a missed clearance by Matheus Doría allowed Mena to tap the ball in from close range past Jona Orozco, who had been drawn out of position in anticipation of Doría’s clearance.

Marlos Moreno would have an opportunity to draw one back in the 87th minute but Rodolfo Cota stood strong and deflected the shot out of harm’s way. A minute later, Julio Furch would drive in and get a shot that went well high of the bar.

As regular time expired, William Tesillo would score to finish the job.

León will head to Puebla to play Lobos BUAP on Sunday, while Santos will head to New Jersey to take on the New York Red Bulls in Concacaf Champions League play on Tuesday before heading to Veracruz for a Liga MX match there on Friday.

León: Rodolfo Cota; William Tesillo, Ramíro González, Andrés Mosquera, Fernando Navarro; Jean Menses (Jorge Díaz Price, 82’), Luís Montes, José Rodríguez, Ángel Mena; Vinício Angulo (Juan Calero, 86’), Joel Campbell (Iván Ochoa. 73’)

Santos Laguna: Jonathan Orozco; Jesús Angulo, Matheus Doría, Hugo Nervo, José Abella; Gerardo Arteaga (Marlos Moreno, 60’), Diego Valdés, José Juan Vázquez, Brian Lozano; Julio Furch, Javiér Correa (Deinner Quiñones, 79’)

Scoring: León - Ángel Mena (51’, 78’), William Tesillo (90’); Santos Laguna - None

Disciplinary: León - None; Santos Laguna - Brian Lozano (Yellow - 53’)