Pachuca Women defeated Santos Laguna Women 4-1 in the Liga MX Regular Season, Round 9 on Saturday evening. The hosts opened the scoring inside the first quarter and never looked back after that. Santos Laguna had arrived with more points but could not match Pachuca's intensity. The result leaves both sides still in the lower half of the table.
Aline Gomes gave Pachuca the lead in the fourteenth minute, a quick strike that caught Santos Laguna flat-footed. N. Nicosia doubled the advantage nine minutes later, finishing from close range after a well-worked move. By then the visitors were already under pressure, struggling to breathe in Pachuca's pressing game. To be fair, Santos Laguna had looked comfortable in their previous fixture against Cruz Azul.
V. Corral added a third just before the interval, capitalizing on a defensive error that gifted the ball away. Two substitutions followed at the break — A. Gomez and S. Nabweteme for Pachuca, D. Rodriguez for the visitors. And here's the thing about half-time adjustments: they rarely change a match unless the manager has something specific to address.
N. Diaz restored Pachuca's two-goal cushion in the sixty-fourth minute, finishing calmly after beating her marker. P. Garcia sealed the victory in the eighty-eighth, a late goal that proved more about persistence than brilliance. We had forecast a home win with seventy-three per cent confidence, and the match played out exactly as that prediction suggested. Santos Laguna never got out of second gear, even when trailing.
Pachuca dominated possession at sixty-seven per cent, registering sixteen shots on target against four for their opponents. The visitors showed better accuracy on their limited attempts, but volume told the story all evening. Thirteen corners came Pachuca's way compared to a single attempt for Santos Laguna. The statistics reflect a team that controlled territory without necessarily controlling composure.
Pachuca remain thirteenth with ten points from nine matches, while Santos Laguna sit eleventh on twelve. Both sides have five defeats already, though the gap between them is narrow. This result does not dramatically alter the table, but it confirms Pachuca's ability to beat teams above them on paper.