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Dominant León tops final Liga MX Power Rankings

By Thomas Buckley

León spent the final seven weeks of the Guard1anes 2020 season in the No. 1 spot. (Photo by Manuel Velasquez/Getty Images)
León spent the final seven weeks of the Guard1anes 2020 season in the No. 1 spot. (Photo by Manuel Velasquez/Getty Images) /
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Liga MX final rankings
The Tigres hit a bump in the road on the way to a top seed and must now face Toluca in a wildcard match. (Photo by Azael Rodriguez/Getty Images) /

These five clubs have realistic title hopes

5. Tigres (–1) 7-7-3, 28 points

The Tigres appeared to be tracing their recent trend: slow start, then hit stride in midseason and reach the playoffs on the upswing. They were 2-5-2 when they got hot, compiling 5 wins in a row heading into a Matchday 15 home game against lowly FC Juárez. But “Tuca” Ferretti’s gang looked disinterested and it cost them. The Tigres coughed up a late lead and settled for a tie. The next week, América spanked the Tigres 3-1 and then the “felinos” gagged on a late lead at home in their season finale. The late-season stumble saw the Tigres fall out of the Top 4 seeds forcing them to chase a title from a wildcard spot.

6. Cruz Azul (—) 9-2-6, 29 points

The Cementeros must use their long layoff to do some soul-searching. “La Máquina Azul” sat atop the Liga MX table after Matchday 11. Since then, they’ve gone 1-1-4 while scoring only 3 goals in those six games. Coach Robert Siboldi tinkered with his line-up freely but could not find a group that clicked on offense. They could face Monterrey or the Tigres in the quarterfinal round, two of the clubs that defeated Cruz Azul down the stretch.

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7. Santos (—) 7-4-6, 25 points

After losing team MVP Brian Lozano to a broken leg before the season opener, it took Santos quite a while to figure things out. But they did. The Guerreros went 5-1-1 down the stretch including a 4-0 blowout of Mazatlán in the season finale to steal into the No. 8 seed and earn home-field advantage in their wildcard match vs Pachuca. And now we hear Lozano might be available for the playoffs. Watch out for these guys!

8. Pachuca (—) 7-4-6, 25 points

The Tuzos enjoyed a 7-game unbeaten streak late in the Guardianes 2020 season but 5 of those 7 games were draws so they didn’t surge up the Liga MX standings. The streak ended with a 1-0 home loss to Necaxa in the season finale and that allowed Santos to leapfrog Pachuca into 8th place. Pachuca must learn how to put games away or their playoff experience will be brief.

9. Guadalajara (—) 7-5-5, 26 points

The Chivas ended their club-record 7-season playoff drought, but they have little else to brag about. An early-season coaching change did not immediately revive Guadalajara after an historically bad run to open the Guardianes 2020 – blanked in its first three games and shut out in 5 of the first 7. Down the stretch, disciplinary issues roiled the locker room and four players were given their walking papers. Hardly the kind of momentum one wants heading into the playoffs.

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