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Liga MX: Tigres face injury issues on road to Doha

By Thomas Buckley

Carlos Gonzalez celebrates with André-Pierre Gignac after scoring against León in the season opener. It's the only game the two forwards have played together thus far this season. (Photo by JULIO CESAR AGUILAR/AFP via Getty Images)
Carlos Gonzalez celebrates with André-Pierre Gignac after scoring against León in the season opener. It's the only game the two forwards have played together thus far this season. (Photo by JULIO CESAR AGUILAR/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Liga MX – Juan Escobar celebrates after scoring Cruz Azul’s goal against Pachuca. It was the Cementeros’ first goal of the Guardianes 2021 season. (Photo by Angel Castillo/Jam Media/Getty Images) /

Sloppy win over Pachuca calms frayed nerves at La Noria

Cruz Azul coach Juan Reynoso earned his first win – and the team scored its first goal – since the former Puebla manager took over at La Noria just days ahead of the Guardianes 2021 season, but admitted it was not pretty.

The Cementeros opened in a defensive posture against Pachuca on Monday night, but insisted he felt no shame at falling back on conservative tactics. “We needed a win more than anything else. We needed to gain some confidence,” he said afterward. Cruz Azul opened the season with two shut-out losses.

“La Máquina Celeste” started with a 5-2-3 line-up and did not try to press forward, focused on staying behind the ball and maintaining tactical discipline. Regular fullbacks Juan Escobar and Adrián Aldrete slid inside, teaming up with Julio César Domínguez who manned the middle slot in central defense. Subs “Shaggy” Martínez and Jaiber Jiménez served as fullbacks.

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Pachuca enjoyed the better of possession, but was unable to find clear sightlines at goal. Cruz Azul rarely ventured successfully beyond midfield, partly due to sloppy passing and partly because of its focus on defense.

Reynoso switched to a 4-3-3 to start the second half and the club briefly showed some life in attack. In minute 62, Escobar shed his marker on a corner kick and rose above a second defender at the near post to power home a header.

Shortly thereafter, Cruz Azul had a penalty call overturned by video replay, but the Cementeros continued to show ambition. Reynoso brought in an extra defender late to protect the 1-0 lead, but the Tuzos flooded forward, squandering several chances to find the equalizer.

The line-up was quite experimental and Reynoso’s tinkering with personnel will allow him to make decisions moving forward, although some will be of the negative variety. For instance, Jiménez did not acquit himself well at left fullback and winger Roberto Alvarado continues to underperform.

Cruz Azul’s roster is still in flux as management mulls an offer from China for Jonathan Rodríguez. “Cabecita” was the top scorer in Liga MX last season, but he is unhappy at the club. He was held out of the Pachuca match after violating team rules and is becoming a locker-room distraction.

And this week, River Plate phoned up inquiring about the availability of Guillermo “Pol” Fernández. The Argentine playmaker returned to Cruz Azul this season after spending all of last year out on loan with River’s bitter rival, Boca Juniors.

Coach Reynoso sees “Pol” as surplus to requirements and the club would jump at the chance to recover some of their original investment (5 million dollars in summer 2019). The front office is demanding 4 million dollars for the 29-year-old midfielder.

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