Santos Laguna beat Atlante 2-0 at Estadio Banorte on Friday night in Jornada 16 of the Liga MX Apertura 2026, with both goals arriving in the second half.
Substitute Tahiel Jiménez broke the deadlock in the 67th minute, and Esteban Lozano doubled the lead ten minutes later. The win lifts Santos Laguna provisionally to fifth place on 25 points.
Atlante played with ten men from the 15th minute after Aaron Quirós was sent off. The hosts were already eliminated before kickoff, and they stay in 16th place on 14 points.
Result: Atlante 0-2 Santos Laguna
Goals: Santos Laguna: Tahiel Jiménez 67′, Esteban Lozano 77′.
Competition: Liga MX Apertura 2026, Jornada 16
Venue: Estadio Banorte, Mexico City
Atlante vs Santos Laguna Match Recap
Atlante started with two early chances. Martín Sarrafiore tested Carlos Acevedo in the opening minutes, and Luis Calzadilla was then denied by Acevedo in a one-on-one situation.
The match changed in the 15th minute. Quirós was shown a straight red card, leaving Atlante with ten men for the remaining 75 minutes.
Santos Laguna had a goal disallowed shortly afterward. The first half still finished scoreless, with Sarrafiore again forcing a save from Acevedo late in the half.
Atlante made an early change after the red card. Diogo Bagui replaced Joaquín Moxica in the 34th minute as Miguel Herrera reshaped his side.
Renato Paiva changed his attack at halftime. Jiménez entered for Jonathan Pérez, and the substitute decided the match after the break.
Atlante nearly took the lead in the 56th minute. Sarrafiore struck an effort that hit the crossbar, with Acevedo beaten on the play.
Santos Laguna scored in the 67th minute. Ezequiel Bullaude supplied the assist, and Jiménez finished to put the visitors 1-0 ahead. See FutnSoccer’s recap of Santos Laguna’s Jornada 15 win over Necaxa for their previous match.
The second goal followed in the 77th minute. Mauricio Cuevas assisted Lozano, who made it 2-0 and gave Santos Laguna control of the closing stages.
Felipe Sánchez and Aldo López were booked for Santos Laguna. There were no penalties in the match, and the 2-0 score held to full time. Atlante’s previous outing was a 4-2 defeat at Chivas de Guadalajara in Jornada 15.
Match Stats
| Stat | Atlante | Santos Laguna |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 40% | 60% |
| Shots | 14 | 10 |
| Shots on target | 4 | 3 |
| Corners | 3 | 6 |
| Saves | 1 | 4 |
| Fouls | 13 | 10 |
Match data: Sportradar.
Starting Lineups
Atlante: Óscar Jiménez; Walter Portales, Nico Carrera, Luis Sánchez, Aaron Quirós, Walter Clar; Martín Sarrafiore, Eugenio Pizzuto, Luis Calzadilla; Joaquín Moxica, Jhojan Julio.
Santos Laguna: Carlos Acevedo; Mauricio Cuevas, Franco Pardo, Felipe Sánchez, Jonathan Pérez, Emanuel Echeverría; Eduardo Aguirre, Fran Villalba, Facundo Cáseres, Ezequiel Bullaude; Esteban Lozano.
Three Takeaways From Atlante vs Santos Laguna
1. Jiménez changed the match from the bench
Jiménez did not start the match. He entered at halftime for Pérez and scored the opening goal 22 minutes later, in the 67th minute.
His goal was the decisive event of the night. Atlante had defended the 0-0 score for more than 50 minutes with ten men before it arrived.
2. Acevedo kept Santos Laguna level until the goals came
Acevedo made four saves, the most of either goalkeeper. He denied Calzadilla early and Sarrafiore twice before halftime, keeping the match scoreless at the break.
Santos Laguna finished with fewer shots than Atlante, 10 to 14. Their finishing decided the result, with two goals from three shots on target.
3. Santos Laguna strengthened their position before the final weekend
The win is Santos Laguna’s second in a row and their eighth of the tournament. It moves them from eighth place to provisionally fifth on 25 points.
Atlante have now lost three straight matches. They have one home win all tournament, and their home schedule closed with a third straight home defeat.
What the Result Means
Santos Laguna move to 25 points from 16 matches, with eight wins, one draw and seven defeats. They sit provisionally fifth, ahead of Toluca on 24 points from 15 matches.
The position is provisional. Jornada 16 still has matches on Saturday and Sunday, and Santos Laguna have not mathematically secured a Liguilla place with this win.
The top eight advance directly to the Liguilla quarterfinals in the Apertura 2026, with no Play-In. Santos Laguna close the regular season against Leon, one of the clubs chasing the same places.
Atlante stay 16th on 14 points from 16 matches, with three wins, five draws and eight defeats. They were eliminated before this match and have one fixture left. For the full list, see the Liga MX schedule page.
What Comes Next
Atlante close the regular season away at Tijuana on Friday, November 20, 2026, at Estadio Caliente. Kickoff is 9:00 PM CT (7:00 PM PT, 10:00 PM ET).
Santos Laguna finish at home against Leon on Saturday, November 21, 2026, at Estadio TSM Corona. Kickoff is 5:00 PM CT (6:00 PM ET).
Both matches follow the November international break. See the Liga MX viewing hub for how to watch the final jornada in the United States, and FutnSoccer’s where-to-watch guide for this match for the Jornada 16 viewing details.
