3 things learned from Matchday 1 in Liga MX

2. Copa GNP springboard

Eight Liga MX teams took part in the Copa GNP preseason tournament and three of them looked pretty good – the Tigres, the Chivas and trophy-winner Cruz Azul.

Cruz Azul scored late in their semifinal against the Tigres to reach the final where they got past the Chivas 2-1 to win the tournament. In the group stage, the Tigres had manhandled the Chivas who, in turn, scored 4 times against América in the semifinals to win a spot in the final.

All the other Liga MX teams had preseason matches but it seems obvious that teams that could play in a “competitive,” if contrived, Cup tournament would earn certain benefits. The four teams that reached the semifinals – a fourth match – naturally had to play well enough to earn those spots. And the finalists would get the benefit of a fifth match within a 16-day period.

The Cup featured very liberal substitution rules (unlimited subs) so coaches could both protect their stars from fatigue and get a decent look at their bench as well as academy prospects.

The Tigres focused on playing their starters together for long stretches in the Copa and that paid off as evidenced by their 3-0 dismantling of Necaxa on Matchday 1, a game they dominated from start-to-finish.

As for Cruz Azul, a pair of youngsters who caught coach Robert Siboldi’s eye in the Cup were sent on as second-half subs against Santos and the duo – Misael Domínguez and Alexis Gutiérrez – rewarded their coach’s confidence by teaming up to produce the game-clinching goal in the club’s Liga MX opener.

The Cementeros also led all Liga MX teams in time of possession (more than 66%) though that was assisted by the fact that Santos defender Hugo Rodríguez was red-carded early in the first half.

As for the Chivas, their Week 1 performance was hampered by the loss of several starters due to the coronavirus and that certainly will be an issue going forward.