Colombia handed Mexico it's worst loss in over a year with a 4–0 pummeling on Saturday night.
Without Raúl Jiménez and Edson Álvarez, Mexico took the pitch at AT&T Stadium with the best XI it had available, looking to defeat a Colombia side that had scored nine goals in its last two matches.
Colombia struck first from a set-piece. James Rodríguez played in a beautiful ball that Jhon Lucumí tapped-in to open the scoring in the 17th minute. Although it was a deadly cross, Mexico goalkeeper Luis Malagón contributed by staying put on his goal line instead of trying to clear the ball in the air.
Javier Aguirre’s side responded well after the goal and grew into the game. Mexico dominated proceedings for the remainder of the fist half, but failed to translate its strong showing to the scoresheet. Santiago Giménez had El Tri’s clearest chance, but his shot went wide and Mexico went trailing into halftime.
Mexico continued to push forward after the break. A brilliant combination between Alexis Vega and Marcel Ruiz ended with Orbelín Pineda firing a first-time shot that David Ospina saved in El Tri’s most dangerous opportunity of the game.
The wasted chances eventually proved costly. James threaded a beautiful pass for Luis Díaz and the Bayern Munich attacker went through on goal before perfectly chipping Malagón to double Colombia’s lead in the 56th minute.
Ten minutes later, El Tri's night got even worse. Mexico tried to clear a cross but the ball fell perfectly for Jefferson Lerma to score a stunning volley. The Crystal Palace midfielder fired a rocket that gave Malagón no chance of preventing Colombia’s third.
Johan Carbonero put the final nail in Mexico’s coffin on a late counter attack where a hesitant Malagón failed to reach the ball in time. Carbonero simply tucked his shot between the goalkeeper’s legs to score his side’s fourth.
The lopsided defeat is a massive wake-up call for El Tri. Colombia showed Aguirre’s men just how far they still are from being able to compete against the best national teams in the world.
Player ratings from the game below.
Mexico Player Ratings vs. Colombia (4-2-3-1)
Subs not used: Carlos Acevedo (GK), Raúl Rangel (GK), Israel Reyes, Kevin Álvarez, Ramón Juárez, Mateo Chávez, Alexis Gutierrez, César Huerta.
Player of the Match: James Rodríguez (Colombia)
Mexico Player of the Match: Erick Sánchez
Colombia (4-2-3-1): David Ospina; Daniel Muñoz, Willer Ditta, Jhon Lucumí, Álvaro Angulo; Jefferson Lerma, Kevin Castaño; Kevin Serna, James Rodríguez, Luis Díaz; Luis Suárez.
Subs: Jáminton Campaz, Johan Carbonero, Juan Fernando Quintero, Rafael Santos Borre, Juan Camilo Portilla, Richard Rios.
READ THE LATEST SOCCER NEWS, TRANSFER RUMORS AND MATCH REACTION
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mexico Player Ratings vs. Colombia: El Tri Crumble in Worst Defeat of Javier Aguirre Era.
