Liga MX Apertura Week 13: Cruz Azul take apart Club América in Clásico Joven

Here are some of the main takeaways from the thirteenth week of play in the 2019 Liga MX Apertura.

Necaxa complete comeback to go top

It feels like there has been more changes at the top of the league table this season than there has been in the past. This week’s new league leader is none other than Necaxa, who on Friday came from two goals down to earn a stunning 3-2 win over Monarcas Morelia.

We know for a fact that Necaxa can score goals, and we know what Guillermo Vazquez Jr. is all about. You don’t really need a comeback to tell you that. Los Rayos have been one of the feel-good stories of the campaign, and their only sin is they aren’t one of the big teams like Club América or Chivas. If they were, we’d probably be talking about this team being a legitimate contender for the title and Vazquez Jr. as a candidate for coach of the season.

Veracruz nearly break losing streak

Oh so close! Veracruz came within touching distance of a colossal upset as León needed an 86th minute goal from Luis Montes to avoid defeat against the last-placed Tiburones Rojos.

Will Veracruz ever win again? At this point, it’s almost as if the team is cursed. We know the Tiburones Rojos are a complete mess and shouldn’t even be playing in Liga MX, but not being able to win in 39 straight games is something you wouldn’t even wish to your least favorite team.

The hilarious part is Veracruz’s schedule isn’t going to get any easier. They still have to play Tigres, Tijuana and Club América, and their most accesible game doesn’t come until the end of the season against Chivas.

Cruz Azul dismantle Club América in Clásico Joven

Cruz Azul kept their Liguilla hopes alive with a commanding 5-2 win over Las Águilas in the Clásico Joven. After a period in which they went seven straight games without a win, La Máquina really needed this one, taking complete advantage of a second half red card to Roger Martinez to score four goals in just 40 minutes and put themselves just two points shy from 8th place Pumas.

It wasn’t that Club América were terrible, it’s just that Roger Martinez’s red card really set the tone for Las Águilas. Next thing you know, a couple of plays went Cruz Azul’s way, and in particular, Club América defender Bruno Valdez had a terrible closing to this game.

At the end of the match, Miguel Herrera had some stern words for the match officials which will surely get him suspended, but unless Las Águilas go on and bomb their last five games of the regular season, this is still a team we are surely going to see contending in the Liguilla.

Indiscipline costs Chivas once more

Club América weren’t the only team with indiscipline problems this weekend. Rivals Chivas were back at it again with the red cards, finishing with nine men in a 1-1 draw with Pumas UNAM.

Whether they were fair or not, red cards once again proved costly for the Rebaño, who was just seconds away from earning their first three points under new coach Luis Fernando Tena. In fact, Pumas’s goal didn’t arrive until the 91st minute and after Alexis Vega had been sent off 15 minutes prior. To make matters worse, Cesar Huerta also managed to get himself sent off seconds later, and Chivas can consider themselves lucky Pumas didn’t go on to win the game in the last few seconds of the match.

With just a few games remaining in the regular season, it looks like a forgone conclusion that Chivas won’t make the Liguilla. The Guadalajara outfit would need something like five wins from their last six matches to have any chance of making it.

Matias Almeyda rumored for Liga MX return as Monterrey fall again

Welcome back Matias Almeyda? After the San Jose Earthquakes’ premature elimination at the hands of the Portland Timbers, the stars just seem to be aligning themselves perfectly for a possible return of Matias Almeyda to Liga MX. Since Diego Alonso’s departure last week, Almeyda has been the strongest rumored candidate to take over Monterrey, and with the international break coming up, there is perhaps no better time for los Rayados to start negotiating for the Argentine than now.

Monterrey just lost to Querétaro 2-1 over the weekend, but remain just two points away from eighth place Pumas, meaning Almeyda could have an impact as soon as this season.