Mexico 1-1 Peru: Marquez's men play out second straight draw
Mexico fought back to draw 1-1 with Peru in New Jersey, leaving Rafael Marquez still waiting for his first victory in charge of El Tri.
Sports Illustrated Stadium · New Jersey
Mexico
Victor Guzman 49′
1–1
Full time
Peru
Jairo Velez 26′
Three days after another 1-1 draw with Colombia in Baltimore, Mexico again had to settle for a share of the spoils, this time recovering from a first-half deficit.
Former Barcelona defender Marquez made wholesale changes to his first starting XI, giving several young players an opportunity. Striker Isaias Violante nearly made an early impression, having a back-post header blocked behind from Mexico's first real attack in the 24th minute.
Only two minutes later, Peru took the lead. Victor Guzman and Jeremy Marquez both failed to deal with a long kick forward from goalkeeper Pedro Gallese, allowing Jairo Velez to race into the box and bend his finish into the far corner.
Gallese then clawed a header from his own centre-back Renzo Garces away from the bottom-left corner. But four minutes into the second half, Mexico found their equaliser as Guzman met Denzell Garcia's free-kick with a bullet header.
Orbelin Pineda's volley dipped wide just after the hour, though neither side created a clear-cut chance to win. Peru's best opportunity came after Mexico goalkeeper Oscar Garcia gifted possession to Jhonny Vidales, only for Garcia to recover and thwart Alex Valera.
Marquez still waiting on first win
Mexico's opening two matches under Marquez have been tight affairs. Against Colombia, they could point to 16 shots to their opponents' five and an expected goals advantage of 1.17 to 0.6. Against Peru, they were flat despite having most of the ball.
| Match statistics | Mexico | Peru |
|---|---|---|
| Shots | 9 | 5 |
| Shots on target | 3 | 2 |
| Expected goals | 0.45 | 0.29 |
| Touches in opposition box | 8 | 7 |
| Final-third entries | 56 | 37 |
El Tri held 64% possession but lacked penetration. The teams combined for just 15 touches in each other's penalty areas, with Mexico's territorial advantage producing little sustained threat.
Mexico have two more chances to get the Marquez era up and running during this extended international break, facing the United States and Chile in Los Angeles before a CONCACAF Nations League tie in November.
