Toluca Beat Necaxa 3-1, But Necaxa Beat Themselves First

Toluca's 3-1 win over Necaxa at Estadio Nemesio Díez on Sunday will go down as a professional response to back-to-back defeats against Pumas and Cruz Azul. It should not go down as a tactical masterclass, because it wasn't one. Necaxa handed this game away.

Edgar López put Toluca ahead in the 29th minute off a Jesús Gallardo cross, and Julián Carranza leveled it at 42 after a VAR review confirmed his goal, ClaroSports' live coverage showed. Everardo López restored the lead in first-half stoppage time. Seconds later, the game turned. Carranza was sent off for covering his mouth while trash-talking an opponent, penalized under the newly enforced "Ley Prestianni," the second such dismissal of the tournament after Rodrigo Aguirre was sanctioned the same way earlier in the season, Excélsior noted.

Necaxa Never Recovered From Their Own Discipline

Down a man, Necaxa conceded again in the 57th minute when a Jorge Díaz Price shot struck the woodwork and deflected in off goalkeeper Luis Jiménez's back, ruled an own goal, TUDN confirmed. By the 80th minute they were down to nine, after Agustín Oliveros picked up a second yellow card, per ABC Noticias.

To be fair to Toluca, they were already on top before any of that happened. Meganoticias had them finishing with 75 percent possession and eight shots on target to Necaxa's three. But this was a team that had beaten Atlante and Monterrey to open the season, unbeaten coming in, and they didn't lose to a superior game plan. They lost because their own player couldn't keep his hand off his mouth for ninety minutes, and another couldn't avoid a needless second booking. Toluca will take the three points and the boost in form.