Monterrey defeated Toluca 3-2 Wednesday in the first leg of their Clausura 2025 Liguilla Quarterfinal series. The match at Estadio BBVA featured Toluca coach Antonio Mohamed facing his former club, where he guided the team to the Apertura 2019 Liga MX title.
Toluca took an early lead when Monterrey defender VĂctor Guzmán scored an own goal. Monterrey equalized before halftime with a shot from outside the area by Nelson Deossa.
In the second half, Monterrey went ahead with a goal from Sergio Canales. Germán Berterame extended Monterrey's advantage.
Toluca narrowed the deficit late in the game with a header from Luan Garcia, making the score 3-2 ahead of the second leg.
This quarterfinal tie marks another instance of Mohamed facing his former club in a decisive series. He previously coached against Monterrey with Xolos in the Clausura 2012 and Apertura 2012 quarterfinals, and with América in the Apertura 2014 quarterfinal.
Monterrey has a history of meeting former coaches in the Liguilla. Miguel Herrera faced them three times, Tomás Boy once, and José Guadalupe Cruz also once after departing the club.
Entering the match, Monterrey held a home record of 10 games without a loss in Liguilla quarterfinals. Toluca had not lost to Monterrey in their previous four encounters across competitions.
Mohamed reflected on returning to the city and facing his former team.
“We are very excited, we know the objective is the championship,” Mohamed said. “And then, mixed feelings is the place where one was always happy, it's always comforting to return. I have many friends both at the club and the city, it's a 180-minute series, we will be rivals and may the best team win.”
