LaLiga Legends and Mexican maestros wow crowd in Toluca

The big day had finally come. After training and gearing themselves up in the morning, the LaLiga Legends headed to the Estadio Nemesio Diez in Toluca on Friday evening (local time) to take on a team of Mexican former players and put on a show for the supporters. They did just that throughout 90 enthralling minutes that showcased football at its finest, with passion and fair play in plentiful supply.

The Nemesio Diez was rocking for the occasion and both sides were given a rousing reception. More than 18,000 people were in attendance to see the LaLiga Legends forge ahead early on thanks to a wonder strike from Gaizka Mendieta. However, the hosts hit back right away, with Braulio Luna making it 1-1 with a close-range finish. Ruben de la Red restored the visitors' lead in the second half, but the Mexicans responded again and eventually claimed a 3-2 win courtesy of quick-fire efforts from Francisco Fonseca and Daniel Osorno.

Fernando Sanz, LaLiga's general director for the Middle East and North Africa and head of international sport projects, was one of the high-profile figures who featured in this historic encounter. He was joined by several LaLiga ambassadors, namely Fernando Morientes, Michel Salgado, Kiko, Christian Karembeu and the aforementioned Mendieta, in the LaLiga Legends ranks.

Although all of the players took to the field clearly hungry for victory, there was no shortage of laughter or fun on show either. This made for the perfect mix between the feel of a friendly and competitiveness on the pitch, a blend that, together with the abundance of goalmouth action, ensured a superb spectacle. Just like in their previous outing in Iran, the LaLiga Legends squad exhibited not just their enduring quality, but great camaraderie to boot.