MEXICO CITY, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Kevin Alvarez struck either side of halftime as Pachuca rose to second in Mexico's Liga MX standings on Thursday with a 3-2 away win over Mazatlan.
Alvarez opened the scoring just after the half-hour mark by slotting a low shot past goalkeeper Nicolas Vikonis following Javier Lopez's deft through ball on the counterattack.
Mazatlan were back on level terms early in the second half when Andres Montano scored with a superb 25-yard chip over a scrambling Vikonis, who had wandered inexplicably out of the 18-yard box.
Alvarez then doubled his personal tally with a long-range drive to the bottom-right corner.
The visitors netted for a third time through Erick Sanchez's whistling effort from distance following another counterattack.
Marco Fabian pulled a late goal back for the hosts but Pachuca survived to clinch their fifth win of the campaign and move to within two points of leaders Monterrey.
Mazatlan remain last in the 18-team standings, having failed to pick up a point in six outings so far. ■
