Mexico triumph over Chile in Gerardo “Tata” Martino’s debut

The Mexico National Team got off to a winning start under Gerardo “Tata” Martino as El Tri earned a comprehensive 3-1 victory over Chile on Friday night.

Raul Jimenez, Hector Moreno, and Hirving “Chucky” Lozano scored in the second half for Mexico, while Nico Castillo struck for Chile in their only goal of the match.

Mexico got off to a fast start, but it was Chile who came closest to grabbing an early breakthrough when an Arturo Vidal header was saved by Guillermo Ochoa in the 13th minute.

El Tri then gave a glimpse of what life under Tata could possibly look like when a brilliant interchange of passes around the area finished with Raul Jimenez sending a cross in for Rodolfo Pizarro, who narrowly failed to connect inside the box.

The rest of the half didn’t have much else to talk about, apart from an overwhelming amount of fouls as a result of both teams negating one another in the midfield.

But early in the second period, Mexico fans erupted on their feet after a penalty was called for a push following a corner kick. As per usual, Raul Jimenez made no mistake from the spot to give Mexico the lead.

What followed was a Mexican onslaught. First, Hector Moreno headed in from a corner to double the score for El Tri.

Moments later, a mistake from Chile’s backline allowed a Rodolfo Pizarro through ball to find a rushing Hirving “Chucky” Lozano to score the 3-0.

However, it wasn’t all going to be short work for Mexico, and four minutes after El Tri’s third, Club América striker Nico Castillo scored to put Chile within two.

At the end, Castillo’s goal would only serve as consolation as El Tri would go on to win the match 3-1.

Mexico’s next game will be on Tuesday when El Tri take on Paraguay at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.