Necaxa Needed Extra Time to Punish Monterrey's Ten Men

Stefan Medina saw red in the 20th minute at Estadio Victoria, and for the next seventy minutes Necaxa had every reason to turn a numerical advantage into a routine win. They didn't get one. Monterrey, even a man down, held the scoreline level deep into the second half before Juan David Valencia's stoppage-time goal finally separated the sides, 2-1, in Matchday 2 of the Liga MX Apertura 2026, according to VAVEL and FOX Sports' live match coverage.

That gap between chances created and points earned is the story here. Necaxa dominated the ball for the better part of an hour against ten men and still needed the 90th minute to get it done. Give Monterrey credit for the resistance, Carlos Salcedo and Ricardo Chávez both picking up cautions for the kind of stubborn, foul-heavy defending that buys time. But the harder conversation belongs to Necaxa. Elite teams don't just beat ten men, they beat them early. Julián Carranza and Danny Leyva had chances go begging well before Valencia's winner. If Necaxa want to be taken seriously as Clausura contenders, this is the kind of game they need to close out in the first half, not the fourth minute of stoppage time.