Mexico made short work of Cuba in their 2019 Gold Cup opener as they scored early and often to pick up a 7-0 victory.
Mexico are one of the favorites to win the tournament, and no one expected Cuba to put up much resistance – and they didn’t. Uriel Antuna, a last-minute addition to the team in place of the injured Jorge Sánchez, finished off a rebound off the post in just the second minute to put Mexico up 1-0 with his first goal for the senior national team.
Mexico earned a come-from-behind 3-1 victory against Venezuela in the first of two pre-Gold Cup friendlies.
The Vinotinto grabbed a surprise lead in the 18th minute, when Jhon Murillo scored from outside the box with an effort that appeared to have been intended as a cross – only to go over goalkeeper Jonathan Orozco and then go in off the underside of the crossbar.
Tigres UANL claimed the Clausura 2019 title after a 1-0 aggregate victory against León in the Gran Final. The championship is the 7th for the universitarios, and Ricardo Ferretti is now tied with Ignacio Trelles for most titles won by a coach.
Tigres went into tonight’s game with the advantage after having picked up a 1-0 home win in the first leg, and that turned out to be the decisive goal as they played out a 0-0 draw in the second leg.
León, the highest-scoring team in league play, came out attacking but were frustrated by a well-organized Tigres’ defense, and were also hampered by the injury-forced substitution of Golden Boot winner Ángel Mena in the first half.
Highlights
Tigres UANL took the advantage in the first leg of the Clausura 2019 Gran Final with a 1-0 victory against León.
Tigres came out attacking as they looked to put their home-field advantage to good use, and they had a pair of early opportunities through André-Pierre Gignac and Eduardo Vargas. At the other end, Vinicio Angulo had a chance in the 9th minute after being played in by Ángel Mena, but he couldn’t put his attempt on target.
Tigres UANL booked their spot in the Clausura 2019 Gran Final with a 1-0 win against Monterrey in the second leg of this Clásico Regio semifinal series. With the aggregate tied 1-1 and away goals not a factor, the universitarios advanced due to the higher seed tiebreaker.
The onus was on Tigres in this one after Monterrey’s victory in the first leg, and they looked to make their home field advantage count in the partisan atmosphere of El Volcán. The hosts controlled possession for the majority of the first half, although there weren’t too many truly dangerous chances.
Superlíderes León took the advantage in their semifinal series with a 0-1 away win against América.
The Águilas looked the better team for long stretches, despite finding themselves in a situation where their “home” leg was played 140 miles from their home stadium – the game was relocated to Querétaro’s La Corregidora due to state-of-emergency levels of pollution in and around Mexico City due to brush fires.
Monterrey took the lead in this Clásico Regio semifinal series with a 1-0 victory against Tigres UANL in Wednesday’s first leg.
The Rayados came out attacking as they looked to make their home-field advantage count, and Rogelio Funes Mori had a very early chance saved by Nahuel Guzmán. Tigres did not sit back to defend, but pressed forward themselves, and Luis Quiñones had a good chance in the 12th minute but his attempt was high.
Cruz Azul won the battle but lost the war as they beat América 1-0 on the night, but lost 3-2 on aggregate in this Clásico Joven quarterfinal series.
La Máquina came out attacking, knowing they needed at least two goals to overturn América’s first-leg lead. José Madueña had an early chance go just wide, while Jonathan Rodríguez found himself in dangerous positions multiple times, but was unable to convert any of his chances.
León picked up a 2-1 victory against Tijuana in the second leg of their quarterfinal series to advance with a comprehensive 5-2 aggregate victory.
La Fiera were in a comfortable position going into this game after picking up a 3-1 away win in the first leg; the Xolos needed to win by three to move on, and León had the best defensive record in the league this season. The hosts could have sat back and let the first leg result be decisive, but instead they came out looking to win and they soon had the opening goal.
Like the first leg, Pachuca took the lead but couldn’t hold it as Tigres UANL came back for a 1-1 draw. That left the series tied 2-2 on aggregate, and with away goals level at one apiece, Tigres advanced due to the higher-seed tiebreaker.
The onus to score was on Pachuca from the beginning; a 0-0 draw in this second leg would have sent Tigres through. The Tuzos were measured in their efforts, though, and even as they pressed forward they remained organized in the back. Tigres were unable to do much to trouble Alfonso Blanco, while at the other end Nahuel Guzmán made several good saves to keep Tigres ahead in the series.
