Mexico Shut Out by Chile as Marquez's Winless Start Drags On
Chile beat Mexico 2-0 in Los Angeles on Tuesday night, leaving Rafa Marquez still without a win in four matches and El Tri closing the international window without a victory. Maxi Gutierrez and Vicente Pizarro scored second-half goals at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Mexico's wait for a first win under Rafa Marquez will stretch into November after El Tri fell 2-0 to Chile in a friendly at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Tuesday night. It was the fourth match of the Marquez era and a second straight defeat, with Mexico finishing the September-October international window without a victory and held scoreless in consecutive matches. Marquez's selection was shaped by absences, with Gilberto Mora returning to Club Tijuana, Hirving Lozano back with the LA Galaxy and Luis Romo unavailable. Athletic Bilbao's Alex Padilla made his debut in goal, a planned change the manager said was unrelated to Raul Rangel's errors against the United States. A quiet first half gave way to a sharper Chile after the break. Maxi Gutierrez broke the deadlock in the 54th minute, finishing under Padilla's legs after Gonzalo Tapia set him up on a counter sparked by Vicente Pizarro's ball recovery in midfield. Marquez responded with five substitutions, including veteran Johan Vasquez, but Pizarro doubled the lead himself, slipping around Vasquez's lunge after a one-two with Dario Osorio and beating Padilla one-on-one. Mexico's frustration showed late when Everardo Lopez's tussle with Chile captain Gabriel Suazo left the Chilean bloodied, while Ben Brereton Diaz blazed a late counter over the bar. Attention now turns to November's Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal against Jamaica, played first in Kingston and then in Monterrey, with the aggregate winner reaching the semifinals and securing direct Gold Cup qualification while the loser faces the Gold Cup prelims.