Toluca beat America 2-0 on Sunday to move into the semifinals of
the Mexican Clausura, while Santos had a 1-0 loss to Pumas but
progressed 2-1 on aggregate.
After accounting for America 4-2 on aggregate, Toluca will
play Pachuca in the semifinals. Santos will play Morelia.
Pachuca and Morelia secured their semifinal places Saturday.
Pachuca defeated defending champion Monterrey 2-1, while Morelia
beat Guadalajara Chivas 1-0 for a 5-2 result in the home-and-away
series.
In Toluca, Antonio Naelson opened the scoring in the 29th on
a cross from Argentine midfielder Martin Romagnoli and Manuel
Perez' strike in the 89th the victory.
"This is a minor goal, we still have to take two more steps
to get what we really want," Toluca's manager Jose Manuel de la
Torre said.
America, the team with the highest payroll in Mexico, was
eliminated in the first round of the knockout stage for the second
tournament in a row.
Later, in Ciudad Universitaria, Ismael Iniguez scored a goal
in the 53rd for the Pumas, who missed several scoring chances.
Argentine Martin Bravo wasted an opportunity in the seventh
minute, Jehu Chiapas rattled the crossbar in the eighth and
Paraguayan striker Dante Lopez wasted a couple more in the 50th and
52nd.
