Jornada 1 of the Liga MX Apertura 2018: Who’s playing who? When? And on what channel?
All the info you need to catch all the games you’re interested in.
All times Eastern, home team listed first.
The Liga MX Balón de Oro awards were presented this Saturday at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.
In total, eleven awards were handed out to recognize outstanding performance in the Apertura 2017 and Clausura 2018 season.
The Best of the 2017-18 Season
Goal of the Year: Amaury Escoto (Lobos BUAP) for his bicycle kick against Chivas
Tigres UANL earned a comprehensive 4-0 victory against Santos Laguna in the StubHub Center in Carson, California, to earn the title of Campéon de Campeones. The victory also qualifies Tigres for the new Campeones Cup, where they will face Major League Soccer’s reigning champion, Toronto FC, in September.
Santos Laguna, despite being somewhat diminished by injuries and absences, nevertheless started the game off well and the first half saw a dynamic game with opportunities at both ends. But shortly before halftime, the momentum swung firmly in Tigres’ favor.
Nexaca emerged as winners of the 2018 SuperCopa MX with a 1-0 win over Monterrey in the StubHub Center in Carson, California.
The Rayos came out attacking, but it was Monterrey who had the first good chance of the game in the 8th minute.The Rayados came close to opening the scoring from a corner kick, but John Stefan Medina sent his header just wide of the target.
The annual SuperCopa MX and Campeón de Campeones doubleheader will take place this Sunday at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.
The SuperCopa MX will open the doubleheader, with Monterrey, the winners of the Apertura 2017 Copa MX, against Necaxa, the Clausura 2018 Copa MX champions.
Following that game, the winners of the Apertura 2017 and Clausura 2018 league titles will face off, with Tigres UANL and Santos Laguna looking to claim the title of “champion of champions”.
All times Eastern.
The Disciplinary Committee has published the list of players and coaching staff who have pending sanctions to serve at the start of the Apertura 2018 Liga MX season.
The following list shows the club with which the players and coaches received the suspension; if they have changed teams, they will serve the suspension with their new club.
Seven players and three assistant coaches have pending sanctions and will miss between one and two games at the start of the Apertura.
Mexico bowed out of the 2018 World Cup with a 2-0 loss to Brazil in the Round of Sixteen. El Tri was trying to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since 1986, but they ultimately came up short in their quest to reach the elusive “fifth game”.
The game started off well for Mexico, who took the game to Brazil. El Tri found success attacking down the wings, with Brazil’s outside backs having trouble dealing with Mexico’s speed. Hirving Lozano had an early opportunity after goalkeeper Alisson didn’t deal with a cross, but his second-minute shot was blocked.
They needed some last-day help from South Korea, but in the end Mexico was able to advance out of their group for the seventh consecutive time. El Tri now faces a tough task as they look to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 1986 when they take on Brazil.
Brazil topped Group E with two wins and a draw, against Costa Rica, Serbia, and Switzerland, respectively, while Mexico finished second in Group F after wins against Germany and South Korea and a loss to Sweden.
After a dominant start to the 2018 World Cup, Mexico slumped to a 3-0 defeat to Sweden in their final group-stage game. However, with Germany suffering a surprise 2-0 loss to South Korea in the other Group F game, Mexico was still able to advance to the Round of Sixteen.
The game did not start well for Mexico, with Jesús Gallardo earning the fastest yellow card in the history of the World Cup when he was called for an elbow on Ola Toivonen just 13 seconds after kickoff. Then, in the 5th minute, Memo Ochoa was called for handling the ball outside of the box and the keeper then had to come up big to keep out the ensuing free kick from Emil Forsgberg.
Group F wraps up this Wednesday with Mexico all-but-through to the Round of Sixteen, but they still have a little work to do.
El Tri is currently sitting on six points after victories against Germany and South Korea; Sweden and Germany both have three, while the Koreans, with no points, are unable to advance.
The formula is simple for Mexico: a win or draw not only puts them through but gives them first place in the group. If they lose and Germany fails to win, they’re still through – although likely in second place. However, if they lose and Germany wins, then Mexico, Germany, and Sweden will have six points and advancement will come down to tiebreakers.
