Marquense and Xelajú MC tied 1-1 this Thursday at the Marquesa de la Ensenada Stadium in the first leg of the Clausura 2026 quarterfinals, in a match that had everything including a key expulsion that changed the course of the match.
Roberto Hernández’s Superchivos arrived as favorites but will have to return to the Mario Camposeco with a result that does not give them an advantage for the return leg on Sunday, in what promises to be a series of maximum tension.
The game started evenly with Marquense being the most active team in the first minutes, but the score reached the break without goals. The story changed in the 32nd minute when Antonio López was sent off for an apparent stomp on his ankle, leaving Xelajú with ten men and complicating the outlook for the Superchivos in the key. Despite the numerical disadvantage, Xelajú managed to open the scoring at minute 48 of the second half with a shot by Widvin Tebalán that beat goalkeeper Javier Colli to make it 1-0.
The advantage was short-lived. At minute 59, Diego Casas received a pass from Villalobos inside the area and with a cross shot beat Nery Lobos for the final 1-1. The Uruguayan scorer, who finished the regular phase as the second highest scorer in the tournament with 14 goals, appeared at the most important moment for the Lions and left the series tied before the return leg. Marquense looked for the second goal in the final minutes but the Xelajú defense, despite playing with ten men, resisted until the final whistle.
The series is defined on Sunday
With the 1-1 on aggregate, the series arrives completely open for the second leg on Sunday, May 3 at 7:00 PM at the Mario Camposeco Stadium in Quetzaltenango. Xelajú has the advantage of playing at home as leader of the Clausura, although they will have to face the game with the absence of their expelled Antonio López and with the additional concern of the injury of Kevin Ruiz, who had to be substituted in the first half due to discomfort in his left leg.
The tiebreaker criterion in case of equalizing the aggregate favors Xelajú for having finished better positioned in the Clausura table, so a tie in the second leg would be enough for the Superchivos to advance to the semifinals.
Marquense, on the other hand, will need to win at the Mario Camposeco to eliminate the leader of the competition in what would be one of the biggest surprises of the Clausura 2026 group.