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Liga MX: Week 16 Roundup

By Rafael Diaz

45-yard golazos and the Liguilla picture is nearly complete. Here is a roundup on the most important things that happened in week 16 of the Liga MX.

Struggling at the top

Nothing reads as clearly as Club Leon's dreadful current run of form. The team from Guanajuato is struggling, and on Saturday, they suffered another setback in a 3-2 defeat to Pachuca.

Although Juan Antonio Pizzi's side is virtually qualified to the Liguilla, Leon looked fragile in defense and gradually fading in other aspects of the field.

Likewise, Club America also suffered defeat on Saturday.Their initial onslaught over Monterrey did not last beyond the second half, as the Rayados came from a goal down to defeat Las Aguilas 2-1. Any hope that their emphatic win over Toluca last week might have relaxed Ignacio Ambriz's side was dispelled in that second period, and the Mexico City outfit looked a long way from entertaining the label of title contenders.

Still, America should be giving us a little more than this in the Liguilla, but there is no predicting who they will face there.

Left Behind

The bare facts look very bad, even if Tomas Boy has provided some improvements, Cruz Azul have been horrendous. On Saturday, the Cementeros suffered their first defeat under new manager Boy in a 2-1 loss to Toluca.

This is now the thrid consecutive season that Cruz Azul fail to make the playoffs, never mind the 18 years without a league title. However, it might still not be enough to bring an administrative change to the team, when Cruz Azul fans deserve better after years of disappointment.

Meanwhile, Atlas were virtually eliminated from playoff contention in their 3-2 defeat to Chiapas. Even after going with the decision to part ways with manager Gustavo Matosas, the Rojinegros looked far from decent at the Estadio Jalisco. Atlas took the lead twice, but a collapse followed and they eventually fell to their fifth home defeat of the season.

Given the money invested on the team, you could easily chide Atlas. It could even be said that this season was a complete failure for the Rojinegros.

Still fighting the war

After 16 weeks, five teams are virtually already inside the Liguilla, with only three spots up for grabs in the final week of play.

One team looking like firm favorites in earning one of those three spots is Puebla. La Franja recorded a 2-1 win against Xolos de Tijuana on Sunday, and in many ways, it was a typically Puebla performance. After taking a 2-0 lead, La Franja went down to nine men, forcing Puebla to survive a siege to obtain the much-needed points.

Another team where life is rarely simple is Monarcas Morelia. The team from Michoacan clinched consecutive victories for the first time since the opening month and the victory took them to ninth and leveled on points with Monterrey in eighth place.

Given the struggles of teams like Veracruz, a Liguilla spot looked for the taking for Chivas. In addition, conquering the Copa MX title during the midweek had Matias Almeyda's side brimming with confidence. However, Segundo Castillo scored twice to stun Chivas at the Estadio Banorte.

Chivas now join Queretaro, who lost to league leaders Pumas UNAM 2-1, as the remaining teams with the smallest chance of playing in Mexico's playoff competition.

Player of the week: Silvio Romero

The 27-year-old Argentine scored twice in Chiapas' 3-2 win over Atlas. Romero arrived to Ricado La Volpe's side without much of a big name behind him. However, after 16 games played, Romero has scored ten times and given six assists for Los Jaguares.

Goal of the week: Enrique Triverio

Enrique Triverio scored this golazo in Toluca's 2-1 win against Cruz Azul. Without thinking twice, Triverio sent this stunning 45-yard shot a-la-Florenzi.

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