Monterrey barely snuck into Liguilla, and it appears that they'll be making a quick exit. For 87 minutes, they held onto a draw against Tijuana, but Greg Garza struck late to give the Xolos a 1-0 lead heading to the home leg of the quarterfinal tie. With an away goal in the bag and a higher seed, it's tough to see Monterrey coming back, especially given Tijuana's impeccable home record.
The absences of Jesus Zavala and Humberto Suazo were felt throughout the match, as Monterrey failed to create scoring chances. Tijuana's were few and far between as well, as Monterrey controlled possession, even if they did very little with it. Before their winning goal, the Xolos' most notable chance came on a first half free kick, nodded in by Joshua Abrego, but he was flagged for offside and the goal was disallowed.
Tijuana needed a bit of a lucky break to score, but made the most of it. In the 86th minute, after a long spell of possession for the Xolos, Duvier Riascos tried a shot from the edge of the box that took a massive deflection towards the far post. Greg Garza followed up the shot with a run towards the post on the left flank, and was in perfect position to tap in the winner.