Liga MX CL25 play-in: Monterrey secure final spot in the playoffs | OneFootball

Monterrey hosted Pumas in the final play-in match to decide which will be the final side to feature in the Clausura 2025 playoffs.

Los Rayados suffered defeat in their opening game to Pachuca, who will meet Club América in the quarter-finals, whilst Pumas' penalty shootout victory over Juárez handed Los Universitarios one last shot at creeping into the final eight.

A tense start to the game saw the sides deadlocked going into the halftime break. In the second half, Monterrey took first blood when talisman Germán Berterame handed the hosts the lead. The opener came as Pumas failed to clear their lines, falling perfectly to Monterrey's top goalscorer to latch onto and fire Los Rayados in front.

Things went from bad to worse for Pumas when second-half substitute Jorge Ruvalcaba received two yellow cards in the space of ten minutes, and for the second straight play-in game, reducing the side from the capital down to ten men.

As the match neared its conclusion, Monterrey sealed the victory when Nelson Deossa doubled their lead. The move began with Esteban Andrade, as Los Rayados calmly built from the back, stretching the ten-man Pumas. Quickly gaining the upper hand, Berterame, who had earlier scored, turned provider with a threaded pass into the path of Deossa. The Colombian deftly rounded a defender before smashing the ball into the net from close range.

The result means that Los Rayados will take the eighth seed in this season's Liguilla and face Toluca in the next round.