Photo Credit: Itzel Segura / Prost Amerika
By: Jonny Rico
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Liga MX will kick off the semifinal round on Wednesday night when Club Leon hosts Tigres UANL at Estadio Leon, aka Nou Camp stadium. Despite qualifying in the eighth and final playoff slot, Club Leon is one of the hottest teams in Liga MX and its clash with third place Tigres promises to be a spectacular affair.
Leon went undefeated in the final 10 consecutive games of the 17-match regular season to seal its qualification into the playoffs. New manager Javier Torrente took over at Leon after Week 7 with the club sitting in last place of the league table with only four points in seven matches. Club Leon went on to win 22 points in its final 10 games to earn a spot in the playoffs.
The impressive unbeaten streak came to an end at 11 games. Leon suffered a 3-2 loss to Tijuana Xolos in the second leg game of the quarterfinals but was able to hold on to the aggregate score lead and qualify to the semifinals.
Tigres also begun the 2016 Apertura season rather slow but have been building up. The Monterrey university side finished the regular season in third place and now with the eliminations of Tijuana Xolos and Pachuca, it is the highest seeded team in the semifinals.
Tigres were matched up against sixth place finishers Pumas UNAM during the quarterfinal round. The 2015 Apertura league champions and 2015-16 CCL runners up managed a 2-2 draw in Mexico City against Pumas, securing two important away goals. It then made a statement win at home during the second leg where it defeated Pumas 5-0, letting the entire league know that it has reached maximum potential at the most important time.
BATTLE UP TOP
Photo Credit: Itzel Segura / Prost Amerika
Both teams have high powered offenses that can score goals at any moment. And leading these attacks is Argentine striker Mauro Boselli for Club Leon and French international Andre Pierre-Gignac for Tigres UANL.
Boselli finished the regular season with 10 goals to his name. Along with Club America’s Silvio Romero and CF Monterrey’s Rogelio Funes-Mori they were all just one goal shy of the league’s Golden Boot winners Dayro Moreno (Tijuana Xolos) and Raul Ruidiaz (Morelia) who finished with 11 goals each.
Gignac on the other hand had an unusual slow campaign netting only five goals. But the French international seems to have woken up at the correct time and is now letting the goals flow in the playoffs. Gignac was a key part of the 5-0 Tigres win over Pumas scoring three of the five goals in the night.
Boselli has also continued the scoring in the playoffs. He got the opening goal for a 3-0 win over Tijuana Xolos in the first leg match of the quarterfinals. He then went on to score his team’s first goal in the second leg match. Leon were down 3-0 and with that score it would have been eliminated. With very few minutes left on the clock Boselli headered in the goal which gave Leon its semifinal ticket.
FAVORITE?
Both teams are very strong, especially in the attacking portion of the field. But it will be Tigres UANL who will take the label of “favorite” to advance to the Liga MX Final.
Tigres are a far more balanced team. Its manager Ricardo “Tuca” Ferretti always makes sure the defense is in top shape to handle whatever the opposition throws at them. Tigres also has a very versatile midfield that can help generate a lot of attacking options or bunker in and help out the defensive unit.
While Leon’s attack is one of the strongest in the league, the defense tends to suffer. This was shown in its series against Tijuana Xolos. Leon won the first leg with a comfortable 3-0 win and the second leg was suppose to be a formality. But Xolos were able to fight back and turn the series into a nail-biting fight.
And finally, the battle of managers between Torrente and Ferretti is heavily unbalanced towards Ferretti. The Tigres manager is currently the longest tenured manager in Liga MX while Torrente is one of the newest.
