Liga MX Apertura Week 2: Miguel Herrera’s decisions rewarded as Club America earn historic win in Hidalgo

Here your five conclusions from the second week of play in the Liga MX Apertura

Atlas go top

Too often, Atlas start the season strong only to end up disappointing at the end of the season. What indication is there that this year will be different for the Rojinegros? The answer is you just don’t. For now, the Tapatios are top of the league after two weeks, following their 2-1 comeback victory over Pumas UNAM. Atlas’ early season brilliance comes down to consistency, and regular consistency is hard to come by in Liga MX, which is why Rojinegros will need to do more than win two games if they want to change more perspectives.

Lobos BUAP shock Queretaro

Lobos BUAP secured their first win in Liga MX after crushing Querétaro 4-0 at the Estadio Corregidora. Newly promoted teams traditionally find it hard to assert themselves in this league but Lobos BUAP aim to change that. Rafael Puente’s side looked confident in possession on Saturday against the Gallos Blancos, and produced a historic performance away from home. Lobos BUAP have shown plenty of guts so far, previously earning a hard-earned draw against Santos Laguna in the first week, and the idea that they have enough to avoid relegation in their first season doesn’t look as farfetched after two weeks.

Chivas earn point at Cruz Azul

In what was arguably the game to watch in the build up to Week 2, Chivas managed to escape the Estadio Azul with a 1-1 victory over La Maquina. After the Cementeros took the lead in the first half, Chivas came to life in the second when a brilliant piece of play from Rodolfo Pizarro leveled the score at one goal a piece. Obviously, the first few weeks of the season are about settling rhythm and this game was a perfect example of that. For Chivas, a handful of their players are coming back from international duty, while Cruz Azul are far from reaching their natural ceiling under Paco Jemez. This was a lukewarm performance from both teams, but make no mistake, these are two teams to keep an eye out as the season develops.

Club America impress in historic win in Hidalgo

On Saturday, Club America went into Pachuca and handed Diego Alonso’s men their first defeat since November 14, 2015 by beating the Tuzos 2-0. After buckling last week against Querétaro at the Estadio Azteca, the thought was that las Aguilas needed a positive result here against Pachuca. Not only did they get a positive result, but they earned a historic win in the process.

The job was done and America’s resolve was impressive in all departments. It was a good day for new coach Miguel Herrera, who had selected four forwards to the start the game. Herrera’s decision was rewarded by a decisive two-goal contribution from Cecilio Dominguez and a reminder of how good Carlos Darwin Quintero can be in space. The only problem for las Aguilas and Herrera was new signing Guido Rodriguez picked up red card late in the game, which will cause him to miss next week’s game against Pumas UNAM. For now, though, if they show the same type of commitment they showed in Hidalgo, there seems to be more success coming las Aguilas’ way.

Slow start for Xolos continues

This has been nothing like the start of the season Xolos de Tijuana expected. The fronterizos dropped their second consecutive game on Saturday, losing to Necaxa 1-0. It has, by their more recent standards, been a frustrating start to Eduardo Coudet’s reign. There is a feeling that the team is still getting accustomed to Coudet’s new style of play, but after two weeks, the team has shown little obvious appetite to show more than average displays. Coudet and his team have a lot to think about in the upcoming week if they want to bring back some of the old fire that has propelled this team to consecutive Liguillas in the past two seasons.