Igor Lichnovsky gifted the hosts the lead by turning the ball into his own net and the visitors' luck worsened when Luis Enrique Quinones was dismissed on the half hour for a second yellow card following a rash challenge on Guido Pizarro.

Carlos Gonzalez doubled the advantage with a header after Maximiliano Araujo's corner and the Paraguayan forward appeared to put the result beyond doubt with a left-footed finish from a difficult angle in the 69th minute.

Tigres rallied late, however, as Andre-Pierre Gignac's close-range strike and a 90th-minute Nicolas Lopez penalty gave them a glimmer of hope.

But Toluca defended resolutely in the closing minutes to clinch their seventh win of the campaign and rise to second in the 18-team standings with 25 points. Tigres are seventh, four points further back.

In other Liga MX fixtures on Sunday, San Luis won 2-1 at home to Mazatlan and Queretaro prevailed 1-0 at home to Pumas.