Playing for 90
Fansided

Clásico Regio highlights Liga MX slate on Matchday 12

By Thomas Buckley

Hugo Ayala clears his zone during the Clásico Regio in the Clausura 2017 Liga MX Finals. (Photo by Azael Rodriguez/LatinContent via Getty Images)
Hugo Ayala clears his zone during the Clásico Regio in the Clausura 2017 Liga MX Finals. (Photo by Azael Rodriguez/LatinContent via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 4
Next
Liga MX Clasico Regio
Cruz Azul keeper Jesús Corona blocks Ema Aguilera’s penalty kick in the final game of the Clausura 2020 season. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images) /

Cruz Azul aims to stay on top of Liga MX table

América faces another Clásico, the second of three straight on the schedule. After holding off Guadalajara to win the Super Clásico, the Aguilas take on league-leading Cruz Azul in the so-called “Junior Classic.” The Mexico City Classic (vs Pumas) follows next weekend.

Since Robert Dante Siboldi took over as coach of Cruz Azul, the Cementeros have won three straight Junior Classics – two Liga MX matches, and a 4-1 win in the preseason Copa GNP in July.

Their most recent official match ended with a penalty kick save by Jesús Corona that preserved a 1-0 win for Cruz Azul. That game was the final contest of the aborted Clausura 2020 which ended with the Cementeros on top of the leaderboard.

Aguilas coach Miguel Herrera has earned the moniker of King of the Classics during his two terms at América (2012-13, and since 2017). He now has more wins (23) in Clásicos than any other América coach in the club’s storied history. Of the three Classics, Cruz Azul has proven to be his most difficult rival.

América is 6-8-4 against the Cementeros with Herrera on the sidelines. “El Piojo” has a 7-2-2 record against the Chivas as coach of the Aguilas and against the Pumas (the “Clásico Capitalino”) he is 10-5-1.

Still, “El Piojo” can point to the two Liga MX trophies he has won. In both the Clausura 2013 and the Apertura 2018, América defeated Cruz Azul in the Final. He also knocked the Cementeros out of the playoffs in the Clausura 2019 quarterfinals. So he has bragging rights in games that count.

Cruz Azul will fall out of first place if “visiting” América wins. Both Mexico City clubs play at Estadio Azteca, but Sunday’s tilt counts as a home game for the Cementeros who are a perfect 5-0-0 at home this season.

Elsewhere in Week 12, the Pumas look certain to bounce back from their first Liga MX loss of the season when they host nose-diving Necaxa. The Rayos have lost five in a row and are winless on the road. UNAM, on the other hand, is 4-2-0 at the CU.

Up north, Santos will be unable to build on the momentum of its first road win of the season (at Toluca) since their opponent – Xolos of Tijuana – is quarantined after a Covid-19 outbreak. The two will make up their game on Oct. 11.

Home/Liga MX