León firmly atop Liga MX Rankings, Cementeros slide

Another Liga MX coach bites the dust

Francisco Palencia became the 5th Liga MX coach to be sacked, given the pink slip on Oct 3, the day after Mazatlán lost at league-leading León 2-1.

The setback was Mazatlán’s third in a row and the club was a disappointing 2-4-7 in its first season in the Sinaloa port city. Veteran coaching vagabond Tomás Boy was the early front-runner to get the gig, but team officials said they had three other résumés on the table.

No team has given up more goals (23) than Mazatlán and it is a disastrous 0-2-5 away from home. So whoever takes the helm will have his work cut out for him.

Palencia’s last game in charge was ruined when Angel Mena hammered home a penalty kick late in added time to produce a comeback victory. Mazatlán had taken a 1-0 lead in minute 52, but as has been too often the case under “Paco,” the Purple Gang could not sustain pressure in its offensive third.

Meanwhile, the red-hot Esmeraldas moved to 9-3-1 on the season, going 4-1-0 in September. Their 8-2-0 run since an Aug. 8 loss at Cruz Azul has “La Fiera” on the top of the Liga MX table with a 4-point cushion.

News and Notes

Necaxa ended its 6-game winless streak with a hard-earned 1-0 victory at Atlas. The Rayos continue to perplex the Zorros, fashioning a 4-4-0 record against the “Rojinegros” since last losing to Atlas on Jan. 21, 2011.

Santos Laguna got its second win in a row after a troubled start to the Guardianes 2020. The 2-0 triumph at Puebla lifted the Guerreros past Puebla into 9th place and continued their domination of the Camoteros. Santos – which still has a game in hand – is now 6-9-0 in its past 15 games against “La Franja.”

The Pumas had only one red card through their first 10 Liga MX games, but they’ve now had a player expelled in three straight. And the latest one was costly. Captain Andrés Iniestra was the culprit Saturday night, committing a foolish hand ball in the box on an Aguilas free kick in minute 80.

The result was a late penalty that Federico Viñas converted to earn a 2-2 draw. Fortunately, the Pumas were able to see out the match and preserve the all-important point on the road.

The underachieving Chivas continue whining about supplying players for national team duty this week, with coach Víctor Manuel Vucetich saying the absences will impact the club’s preparation for the “Clásico Tapatío” against Atlas.

In my opinion, there are two ways to look at this.

One: Guadalajara has played so poorly perhaps none of their players deserve national team consideration.

And Two: maybe their time away from the club will snap them out of their lethargy as the season heads for the home stretch.