Liga MX Week 10 Roundup: Clasico Nacional between Chivas and America steals spotlight

All eyes were at the Estadio Chivas, where on Sunday Club America overcame a late second half surge from Chivas to earn a 2-1 victory in the 220th edition of the Clasico Nacional.

Chivas hosted their arch-rivals on the back of their first Liga MX win of the season, and looked like the better side from the start, as Club America struggled to find their rhythm.

In the 16th minute, the Estadio Chivas erupted in celebration when Isaac Brizuela volleyed home from close range, only to have the goal disallowed for an apparent offside.

Still, the hosts continued to look dangerous and Carlos Cisneros was not far from opening the score, sending a deflected shot only a couple inches wide of the bar.

With the game frequently interrupted by fouls and clashes with players, both sides headed into the break scoreless.

Four minutes after the restart, though, it took a well executed volley from Darwin Quintero to open the scoreline. The Colombian let the ball bounce once before smashing past Rodolfo Cota to give Las Aguilas the lead.

The visitors weren't finished celebrating and doubled their lead ten minutes later. Oribe Peralta appeared at the far post to nod in Rubens Sambueza's cross for the 2-0.

Carlos Cisneros soon departed the scene after receiving a straight red, leaving the Rebaño Sagrado down to 10 players.

Despite the disadvantage, Chivas began to put America under pressure, and in an all-too familiar occurrence for Las Aguilas, Paolo Goltz also received his marching orders to leave both sides with ten players each.

Chivas finally got the better off Hugo Gonzalez when substitute Carlos Alberto "Gullit" Peña steered home an Isaac Brizuela pass to get Matias Almeyda's side within one.

The prospect of a point looked achievable for Chivas, and they came close to grabbing the equalizer when Miguel Samudio was forced to clear off the line from a Gullit header.

As Chivas pushed relentlessly for their second, Hugo Gonzalez had to be at his best to deny Raul "Dedos" Lopez twice from a pair of free-kicks.

Michael Arroyo had the chance to seal the game at the death, but at the final whistle, the score remained to give Club America their first Clasico win in four matches.

Week 10, however, kicked off on Friday with a top-half of the table clash between Santos Laguna and Pachuca. The first half gave little clues about just how the game would turn out, with Santos Laguna the more dominating of the sides from the start.

The hosts took the lead 21 minutes in through Martin Bravo when he fired past veteran goalkeeper Oscar "Conejo" Perez from a rebound.

Three minutes later, Nestor Calderon added a second from the penalty spot after a handball from Stefan Medina was called inside the Pachuca box.

Santos Laguna looked well on their way to a comfortable victory when Luis "Quick" Mendoza secured a third with a brilliant curling effort from outside the box.

But the pendulum swung the other way in the second half. Pachuca got their first of the night after Jonathan Urretaviscaya's left footed shot beat Agustin Marchesin on 72 minutes.

Erick Gutierrez then pulled the Tuzos within one when he headed home from an Urretaviscaya free-kick.

However, despite significantly improving in the second half, Pachuca were unable to find the equalizer as Santos Laguna held on to all three points.

Meanwhile, on paper, the other big match of the week was a rematch of last season's final between Tigres and Pumas. The champions went agonizingly close throughout the match, but Alejandro "Pikolin" Palacios was at his best to keep the Pumas net at zero. At the final whistle, both teams settled for a tame 0-0 draw.

Elsewhere, Veracruz earned a late 3-2 win over lowly Atlas to clinch their first Liga MX victory of the season. Cruz Azul remain in good form but let the win slip by missing a late penalty to draw 1-1 with Puebla. Leon moved to second in the league table behind Monterrey, who won 3-1 at Morelia, with 2-0 victory over Queretaro. Finally, Xolos de Tijuana shocked Chiapas at home to claim all three points at the Estadio Victor Manuel Reyna.

Goal of the week: Luis "Quick" Mendoza

GOLAZO DEL QUICK MENDOZA! pic.twitter.com/7xZhpQDIf4

— Rompe Redes (@RompeRedes1) March 12, 2016