Over the weekend, we began to see some gradual yet significant changes in the 2017 Apertura. While teams like Monterrey, Club America and Cruz Azul st
Over the weekend, we began to see some gradual yet significant changes in the 2017 Apertura. While teams like Monterrey, Club America and Cruz Azul strengthened their control at the top of the league table, other such as Chivas and Morelia continued to tumble down near the bottom. There’s still plenty of time left in the Apertura, but after a few weeks, patterns are slowly beginning to emerge in the competition.
In case you missed anything from the recent round of matches, here’s a game-by-game recap from Week 5.
Morelia 1-2 Pachuca
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0u-3EZuMvk&w=560&h=315]
Thanks to a couple of goals from Victor Guzman, Pachuca has now secured its second win in a row. Ahead of Keisuke Honda’s upcoming debut, Los Tuzos are beginning to gain some much-needed confidence and points. As for Morelia, Los Canarios are now one of only three teams in the league without a victory.
Goalscorers: 34’ Raul Ruidiaz (Morelia), 38’ Victor Guzman (Pachuca), 45’ Victor Guzman
SofaScore man of the match: Victor Guzman (Pachuca). No surprises here, after scoring twice, the 22-year-old is worthy of his recognition. Unfortunately for Guzman, Honda is set to soon steal some minutes from him in his position.
Club Tijuana 2-0 Santos Laguna
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCePEIZ2Lfg]
Is this the turning point for Xolos? Following an awful start to the season, Tijuana looked like an entirely new squad during Friday night’s convincing win against Santos. That said, what might have helped was that Los Guerreros didn’t begin to truly pressure Xolos until the second half.
Goalscorers: 23’ Gustavo Bou (Xolos), 36’ Ignacio Malcorra (Xolos)
SofaScore man of the match: Ignacio Malcorra (Xolos). With a goal and assist, the midfielder was the biggest difference-maker on the pitch for Tijuana.
Cruz Azul 2-1 Atlas
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3nOSDo-FGc&w=560&h=315]
What a wild and weird match. After Cruz Azul took an early 2-0 lead by the 15th minute, defender Omar Mendoza later earned a red in the 30th minute. Atlas’ advantage was short-lived when Jaine Stiven Barreiro was shown a red of his own 10 minutes afterwards. Although Matias Alustiza gave Atlas some hope with a goal in the second half, Cruz Azul was able to narrowly avoid a troubling result.
Goalscorers: 4’ Edgar Mendez (Cruz Azul), 15’ Felipe Mora (Cruz Azul), 68’ Matias Alustiza (Atlas)
SofaScore man of the match: Two-way tie between Edgar Mendez (Cruz Azul) and Francisco Silva (Cruz Azul). While Mendez scored the first goal of the win, Silva lead his team in passing and also assisted Mora’s goal.
Lobos BUAP 2-3 Club America
This match wasn’t televised, so, is there a way to properly analyze this? At the very least, we do know that Lobos BUAP have lost two games in a row while America has just clinched its fourth consecutive victory. Despite the fact that Julian Quiñones scored twice for Lobos BUAP, his opportunities weren’t enough to avoid the defeat.
Goalscorers: 33’ William Da Silva (America), 34’ Darwin Quintero (America), 40’ Julian Quiñones (Lobos BUAP), 46’ Julian Quiñones (Lobos BUAP), 52’ Oribe Peralta (America)
SofaScore man of the match: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Tigres 2-0 Pumas
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TECse3FTg-4&w=560&h=315]
We nearly saw Tigres at their best on Saturday. The Liga MX giants were near-perfect with their passing, high-pressing in the attack and creative with their movement. All that was missing was a couple of more goals. Looking over at Pumas, the away side had a decent number of opportunities but failed to find a single shot on target.
Goalscorers: 16’ Eduardo Vargas (Tigres), 79’ Andre-Pierre Gignac (Tigres)
SofaScore man of the match: Alfredo Saldivar (Pumas). I believe that the argument could be made here for a couple of Tigres players, but Saldivar should definitely be given credit for his eight saves — one of which stopped a penalty from Gignac.
Veracruz 1-1 Queretaro
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6gjvobclj0&w=560&h=315]
Veracruz was so very close to clinching a third consecutive victory. After an impressive defensive performance from the backline, the home team eventually allowed a late equalizer from Queretaro near the end of regulation time. Either way, it’s not a bad result for the two clubs who are slightly exceeding expectations during the past few weeks.
Goalscorers: 44’ Cristian Menendez (Veracruz), 90’ Emanuel Villa (Queretaro)
SofaScore man of the match: Adrian Luna (Veracruz)
Leon 1-2 Monterrey
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BPN2UlnbdE&w=560&h=315]
A brilliant first half with two goals helped solidify three points for Monterrey. Leon stepped up during the second half but was only able to to sneak one scrappy goal into the back of the net. With the victory in hand, Los Rayados are still at the top of the league table.
Goalscorers: 3’ Rogelio Funes Mori (Monterrey), 16’ Dorlan Pabon (Monterrey), 62’ Mauro Boselli (Leon)
SofaScore man of the match: Dorlan Pabon (Monterrey). I’m thinking Aviles Hurtado and Carlos Sanchez are also worthy candidates as well, but Pabon was the one who provided the second goal that guaranteed the win.
Chivas 0-1 Puebla
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5doysg8yb9A&w=560&h=315]
Was the officiating and controversial red to blame? Was it also Chivas’ uninspired performance? It looks like it was a mixture of the two which led to the upset of the weekend. Following the loss, the current title-holders have now slipped down to last place in the league table. As for Puebla, thanks to the lone goal from Alonso Zamora, Los Camoteros have now earned their first victory of the regular season.
Goalscorers: 42’ Alonso Zamora (Puebla)
SofaScore man of the match: Alonso Zamora (Puebla). An impressive evening for the defender who was a game-changer in the defense and attack.
Toluca 0-0 Necaxa
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wR1R0mNdSA&w=560&h=315]
Following a total of 29 shots on Sunday afternoon, Week 5 wrapped up with a scoreless draw between Toluca and Necaxa. Although there were plenty of chances to earn a game-winner, both teams had a difficult time capitalizing on their opportunities. With a point clinched for the two squads, the result is a satisfactory one for the clubs that have remained in the top six of the league table.
Goalscorers:
SofaScore man of the match: Santiago Garcia (Toluca). Personally, I would have given this award to a member of Necaxa’s backline, but Garcia was able to stand out with his defensive interceptions.
Attendance numbers
Attendance numbers from Week 5 of the 2017 Apertura. Via @LIGABancomerMX #LigaMXeng pic.twitter.com/ZK6L6cjvMd
— Cesar Hernandez (@cesarhfutbol) August 20, 2017
Goal of the week — Dorlan Pabon (Monterrey)
#NoTeLoPierdas
G⚽⚽⚽L de Dorlan Pabón@clubleonfc 0-2 @Rayados #J5AP2017 #LIGABancomerMX
⚽ #SienteTuLiga ⚽#PorLaEducación pic.twitter.com/8dy25ofrcN— LIGA Bancomer MX (@LIGABancomerMX) August 20, 2017
Soccer Nation Best XI from Week 5
Note: Due to the fact that Lobos BUAP vs Club America was not televised, no players from either team were selected.
