VIDEO CREDIT: LIGA Bancomer MX
By: Jonny Rico
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There were definitely some surprising results in Week 8 of the Liga MX. Champions Club America fell at home to last place and relegation favorite Leones Negros, Chivas of Guadalajara maintained its improvements this time with a big win at home. And the highlight of the week, the epic come-from-behind win for the Tijuana Xolos.
Morelia 3-2 Chiapas FC
Monarcas Morelia left the bottom spot of the league table with its first win of the season. A thrilling back and forth match saw the home side take the three points in the five goal spectacle. A positive start to interim manager Roberto Hernandez after former manager Alfredo Tena was let go last weekend.
Tijuana Xolos 3-2 Pachuca
Visiting Pachuca offered its best match of the season in Tijuana but fell short to the league leading Xoloitzcuintles. Pachuca took an early lead and doubled that lead before the halftime break. But the second half was a different story with the Xolos overcoming the deficit thanks to a Juan Arango brace – his second consecutive brace at the Estadio Caliente. Colombian striker Dayro Moreno scored in the 91st minute to give Xolos the win and to reach the top of the league’s scoring sheets alongside Chiapas’ Aviles Hurtado on five goals.
Club America 0-1 Leones Negros
The most shocking result of the weekend came in the Estadio Azteca where last place team and relegation favorites Leones Negros defeated the champions. Carlos Darwin Quintero came back to the starting lineup after serving a two match suspension. America had won its last two games without Quintero and now must figure out what to do with the star signing of the transfer window. Another big talking point from this match was the decision to leave Mexican National Team striker Oribe Peralta on the field after a heavy crash with the Leones Negros goalkeeper and a suffering a likely concussion. Perlata looked dizzy the remainder of the match, but was allowed to stay by team doctors and manager Gustavo Matosas.
Puebla 4-1 Queretaro
After a slow start Puebla has gotten back in form. The threat of relegation has been taken seriously and now the team finds itself in fourth place of the league table. A superb performance by Matias Alustiza who scored two of the four goals led the ‘Poblanos’ to victory. This was not the start that incoming Queretaro manager Victor Manuel Vucetich wanted in his league debut. Queretaro had taken a big 5-0 win over Santos midweek in the Copa MX during Vucetich’s official debut.
Tigres UANL 3-0 Pumas UNAM
Mexico City university side continued its bad run in form and suffered a fourth consecutive league loss; it is also win-less in its last five matches. With the loss Pumas now sits at the very bottom of the league table. Tigres improved to 9th place of the standings and start to look like serious playoff candidates.
Leon 2-1 Santos
Leon seem to be finding some consistency with its new manager Juan Antonio Pizzi. The team went down in the first half but were able to turn the score around to take all three points. Santos continued its decline after falling midweek 5-0 to Queretaro in the Copa MX. Both sides are currently in the middle/lower part of the table fighting for playoff positions.
Atlas 0-3 Veracruz
Atlas paid the price for prioritizing the Copa Libertadores. Following the surprising midweek win in Brazil over Atletico Mineiro, Atlas manager Tomas Boy decided to leave eight of his starters behind in South America for the team’s next continental match this upcoming week. Veracruz picked up three important points in its quest to avoid relegation. The southern port side remain the only team to still be undefeated in the league and are up to second place of the league table behind Tijuana Xolos.
Toluca 1-0 Cruz Azul
Home side Toluca issued former league leaders Cruz Azul its second consecutive loss in a dull and uninspired match. Both teams looked to neutralize the opponent without worrying too much about attacking. Toluca got a little more brave in the final minutes of the match, and found the winning goal.
Chivas Guadalajara 3-0 Monterrey
Based off last week’s emotional come-from-behind win away at Cruz Azul, Chivas fed off the confidence boost and is starting to look like picking up a head of steam. The big win is even more important considering all other relegation threatened teams (Puebla, Veracruz, and Leones Negros) picked up wins as well.
Mexico
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