Necaxa opened the Liga MX Apertura 2026 with a 2-1 comeback over Atlante at Estadio Victoria on 07/16/2026, turning a 1-0 deficit into three points in Matchday 1. Julián Carranza brought the hosts level from the penalty spot with ten minutes left, and Misael Pedroza then finished the turnaround after a VAR review allowed the goal to stand.
That is why readers are searching Atlante now: the opener had a little of everything, a lead, a penalty equalizer and a late finish that needed the video check before the result settled. Atlante had gone in front through Eugenio Pizzuto, and for a while it looked like the visitors would leave with the first strike of the tournament.
Carranza’s equalizer changed the rhythm of the match. Necaxa had been pressing for a way back, and the penalty gave them it when the clock was already against them. From there, the game moved into the kind of closing stretch that exposes a side under pressure, with Atlante struggling significantly in defense as the minutes ran down.
The final turn came through Pedroza, whose goal was the one that drew the loudest reaction because it had to survive VAR before standing. The video review did not overturn the decision, and Necaxa’s late second goal held up to make it 2-1. For a match that started with Atlante leading and a home crowd waiting for a response, the ending left little doubt about who took control when it mattered most.
For Necaxa, the practical reward is simple: three points on Matchday 1 and an early start to the Apertura table from the top of the opener’s scoreboard, however briefly that matters this early. For Atlante, the sharper question is whether the defensive collapse late on and the failed VAR challenge around Pedroza’s goal will linger longer than the opening lead they built through Pizzuto.
