Tag Archives: Liga MX

Clausura 2019 Semifinal Preview: Saturday’s Game

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Tigres UANL vs Monterrey – 8:00 PM – Univision Deportes
First leg: Monterrey 1-0 Tigres

Tigres UANL (2nd) suffered a narrow defeat in the first leg of this Clásico Regio semifinal series, and they’ll now look to overcome the deficit when they return home to El Volcán. Due to their position as higher seed, a 1-0 victory would send Tigres through; but if Monterrey scores, the universitarios will need to win by two due to the away goals tiebreaker. Tigres lost just once at home in the regular season and scored 2+ goals in seven of their eight games there, so a comeback here is well within the realms of possibility. They will not want to lose to their regional rivals again, especially not at home; expect high intensity from the opening whistle.

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América vs León – Semifinal Recap and Highlights

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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.

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Monterrey vs Tigres UANL – Semifinal Recap and Highlights

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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.

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First Leg of América-León Semifinal Moved

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Originally scheduled for Wednesday night, the first leg of the semifinal series between América and León was rescheduled to Thursday due to the state of emergency in Mexico City caused by pollution due to brush fires in the area; the game has now been moved out of the area entirely at the recommendation of local authorities.

Rather than the Estadio Azteca, América will now “host” the first leg in Querétaro’s La Corregidora, located about 140 miles away.  Toluca’s Estadio Nemesio Diez, which is only about 40 miles away, was considered as the first option, but it too is in an area affected by the air pollution.

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Clausura 2019 Semifinals Set

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The Clausura 2019 quarterfinals wrapped up on Sunday with three of the four higher seeds advancing to the semifinals.

Superlíder León continued their good form by beating Tijuana 5-2 on aggregate to easily advance, while América split their series with rivals Cruz Azul, but triumphed 3-2 on aggregate to become the lone lower seed to move on.

Tigres UANL and Monterrey both advanced based on their position in the table after aggregate draws in the quarterfinals; Tigres tied Pachuca 2-2, while Monterrey tied Necaxa 1-1. The two will now face each other as the Liguilla produces another Clásico series.

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Cruz Azul vs América – Quarterfinal Recap and Highlights

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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.

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León vs Tijuana – Quarterfinal Recap and Highlights

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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.

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Tigres UANL vs Pachuca – Quarterfinal Recap and Highlights

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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.

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Clausura 2019 Quarterfinal Previews: Sunday’s Games

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Cruz Azul vs América – 7:00 PM – Univision
First leg: América 3-1 Cruz Azul

Cruz Azul lost the first leg, but thanks to their away goal and their position as higher seed, they are still in a reasonable position to advance: La Máquina needs a two-goal win to move on to the semifinals. They were not a very high-scoring team in the regular season, though, amassing 26 goals in total; they won by a 2+-goal margin just four times in 17 games. Nevertheless, that’s what they need to do in this one. The pressure is on, especially since Cruz Azul will not want to be knocked out of the playoffs by their Clásico rivals.

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Clausura 2019 Quarterfinal Previews: Saturday’s Games

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Tigres UANL vs Pachuca – 8:00 PM – Univision
First leg: Pachuca 1-1 Tigres

Saturday’s clash between these two will be a winner-takes-all affair after a draw on Wednesday night. Tigres, with both an away goal and the advantage of being the higher seed, are in a more comfortable position; in addition to a win, they would go through with either a goalless draw or another 1-1 result. The universitarios lost just once in El Volcán in the regular season, and drew just once as well; their other six games all ended in victories.

On the other hand, to say Pachuca did not travel well would be an understatement; the Tuzos did not win a single one of their nine away games, picking up four draws and five losses on their travels. They also managed just six goals on the road, while allowing 21. Pachuca will need a much better result here if they want to move on to the semifinals.

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