Match recap: Santos Laguna 1, Mazatlán FC 0

For the second straight week, Brian Lozano converted a penalty for Santos’ lone goal. Unlike last week however Santos controlled the flow of the game from the opening whistle and didn’t allow their opponent to find a rhythm, resulting in a 1-0 win over Mazatlán. Gibran Lajud picked up his second Liga MX shutout of the season, although thanks to the offense keeping the pressure on the visitors he didn’t have a whole lot to do on the evening.

Santos started out the game with the better of possession, moving the ball down into the Mazatlán end of the field but not creating many chances to start. It was Mazatlán however who had the first chance, a blocked shot in the fourth minute that Gibran Lajud easily plucked out of the air. In the eighth minute, Brian Lozano made a good run down the right side, slipping between two defenders and forcing a third concede a foul by dragging Lozano down. While the free kick didn’t work out, it was the kind of play Lozano made routinely before his injury. Lozano got the first shot of the evening for Santos when Andrés Ibargüen threaded a pass into the box that “Huevo” hit with pace, however it wasn’t hit cleanly and rolled wide of the far post.

Santos continued to threaten, creating chances but they couldn’t quite get the final domino to fall. Passes were a little long or got deflected before someone could take full advantage of them. Alessio Da Cruz made some good moves in the 39th minute to get into the box, but the defense played the situation perfectly. Da Cruz ran out of room and angle to shoot, and the resulting attempt went well wide of the net. In the 42nd there was controversy when Jorge Padilla went to clear a ball and instead knocked Diego Valdés off of his feet. Initially ruled a foul outside of the box, a brief VAR review confirmed it was in fact a penalty. Brian Lozano stepped up and converted the shot from the spot to put Santos up as the clock passed the 45 minute mark.

Lozano came off during the half, reportedly due to an injury to his left thigh. After the break, Santos continued to dominate the flow of play, while Mazatlán continued to commit fouls and playing defense. In the 78th Da Cruz got onto a nice pass from Juan Ferney Otero, but the shot just whistled over the top of the bar. Santos had a couple of good opportunities in the 84th minute when Jordan Carrillo hit a shot from distance that Nicolás Vikonis saved but gave up a rebound on. Alberto Ocejo got to the rebound and hit a tough angle shot, but Vikonis was there to absorb the impact and keep it a one-goal game. Santos never gave Mazatlán a real opportunity to get back in the game, and Los Cañoneros did themselves no favors by constantly conceding fouls and creating very little even into stoppage.

After the international break, Santos will go on their first road trip in a month when the go to Pachuca for a match on Saturday, October 16. Mazatlán meanwhile head back home to host Atlas on Friday, October 15.

Santos Laguna: Gibran Lajud; Omar Campos, Félix Torres, Matheus Dória, Alan Cervantes; Brian Lozano (Juan Ferney Otero, 45’), Diego Valdés, Fernando Gorriarán, Andrés Ibargüen (Jordan Carrillo, 72’); Alessio Da Cruz (Ignacio Jeraldino, 90+3’), Eduardo Aguirre

Mazatlán FC: Nicolás Vikonis; Carlos Vargas, Nicolás Díaz, Jorge Padilla (Jorge Zarate, 68’), Bryan Colula; Gonzalo Freitas, Néstor Vidrio, Roberto Meraz (Ulíses Cardona, 85’), Emilio Sánchez (Camilo Sanvezzo, 68’); Iván Moreno (Daniel Amador, 73’), Brian Rubio (Michael Rangel, 72’)

Scoring: Santos Laguna - Brian Lozano (44’ - penalty); Mazatlán FC - None

Disciplinary: Santos Laguna - Alessio Da Cruz (Yellow - 27’), Guillermo Almada (Yellow - 31’) Luis Almada (Yellow - 32’), Gibran Lajud (Yellow - 90’); Mazatlán FC - Jorge Padilla (Yellow - 24’), Emilio Sánchez (Yellow - 49’), Nicolás Díaz (Yellow - 60’), Gonzalo Freitas (Yellow - 60’), Brian Rubio (Yellow - 71’)