Belgrade’s Rajko Mitić Stadium provided a stern continental setting for Rodrigo Huescas’s most meaningful evening in more than a year. The Mexican defender started for FC Copenhagen in their 2-2 UEFA Conference League draw with Red Star Belgrade, completing 62 minutes on the right flank after a long rehabilitation from a serious knee injury.
For the former Cruz Azul academy player, the occasion carried weight beyond Copenhagen’s point in Serbia. Huescas ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee against Qarabag on 1 October 2025, an injury that removed him from competitive football for over 12 months and ruled him out of the World Cup. His place in the Danish side’s starting line-up marked another significant stage in a return that had begun cautiously.
He had first been given limited action in a friendly against Hamburg, then featured in Copenhagen’s opening Conference League fixture against Braga. In Belgrade, however, the coaching staff trusted him from the outset, restoring him to the wide defensive role he had occupied before the injury.
A difficult night, and an important step
Copenhagen began brightly amid the noise of the Serbian capital and went ahead in the 29th minute when Matej Gashtarov turned the ball into his own net. Red Star’s response was immediate and forceful. Timi Max Elsnik levelled five minutes later, finishing a counter-attack with his left foot, before Vasilije Kostov struck powerfully into the corner in the 41st minute to send the home side into the interval ahead.
Huescas remained involved through the opening part of the second half before being replaced in the 62nd minute by Peru international Marcos López. There were no reported physical issues after his outing, a welcome detail for a player whose route back has demanded patience after the ligament damage.
Copenhagen found their equaliser eight minutes later. Maher Carrizo received Ákos Markgráf’s pass on the edge of the area and drove a left-footed effort in for 2-2. Both teams pressed for a winner late on, but the match ended level, with Red Star reduced to 10 men following Stefan Gudelj’s dismissal.
Copenhagen remain in the continental picture
The draw took Copenhagen to four points and sixth place in the Conference League table, preserving their early momentum in the 2026-27 campaign. Yet the evening will be remembered in Copenhagen as much for Huescas’s return as for the scoreline: a Mexican player back in a European starting side, on a demanding away night, after a year in which football had been taken away from him.
