Liga MX: Things to Watch in Weekend’s Huge ‘Clásico Joven’

An epic Liga MX showdown is on tap Saturday night at Estadio Azteca, when América hosts Cruz Azul with the No. 1 playoff seed on the line.

The two Mexico City rivals have already clinched first-round playoff byes and both are looking to extend record streaks – Cruz Azul has won a league record-tying 12 games in a row while América is on a franchise record-tying seven game home winning streak.

The 114th “Junior Classic” pits the two best teams in Liga MX (the pair has been 1-2 in the standings since Matchday 8), matching Cruz Azul’s league-leading defense (7 goals allowed in 14 games) against the top-scoring offense in Liga MX (América has 23 goals in 14 games). The Cementeros will be without hardman Pablo Aguilar who will miss the match due to accumulation of yellow cards.

Here are three things to keep in mind as you watch the game.

1.     Streaking Cementeros

Cruz Azul will take the pitch at Estadio Azteca on a bit of a roll. Last Saturday, the Cementeros held off the Chivas 1-0 to win their Liga MX record-tying 12th in a row

Jonathan Rodríguez, top scorer in Liga MX last season, bagged the winner in spectacular fashion, one-touching a throw-in before making a diagonal run into the box where he collected Roberto Alvarado’s perfectly weighted pass and one-timed a shot into the net. “Cabecita” has now scored in four straight matches and has seven goals on the season (two back from leaders Rogelio Funes Mori and Alexis Canelo).

“La Máquina” opened the Guardianes 2021 with two losses and pundits speculated that the club was incapable of recovering from its spectacular playoff collapse and the stunning resignation of coach Robert Siboldi. Juan Reynoso was management’s fourth choice and, after the team’s 0-0-2 start, odds were the former Cruz Azul defender would not last the season.

Instead, the Cementeros have not lost since and Reynoso is pulling all the right strings. His lineup rotations and his in-game tactical adjustments have paid off brilliantly.

2.     Solari settling in

América sauntered into one of the most intimidating venues in Liga MX – “El Volcán” – and popped the Tigres in the mouth, bursting the Monterrey-based club’s title hopes in the process.

Rookie coach Santiago Solari has the Aguilas on an eight-game win streak and the 3-1 victory was also the fourth in a row for the “Azulcremas” over the Tigres, a dramatic shift in what had been the most tantalizing rivalry of the previous decade during which the two teams combined for eight Liga MX titles.

On Saturday, Solari will have a chance to set a new franchise record as the Aguilas attempt to win their eighth consecutive home game. Twice before, América has won seven home games in a row (in the 1982-83 season, Carlos Reinoso turned the trick and Miguel Herrera matched the record in the Apertura 2013 season).

With injuries wreaking havoc with the front line, América is winning games in midfield where Pedro Aquino and Richard Sánchez are providing strong two-way play and smooth newcomer Álvaro Fidalgo is generating offense, silencing critics in the process.

Aquino arrived in January with strong defensive credentials after winning the title with León, while Sánchez appeared to be on his way out after a season in which he was cast as a malingerer. The pair spearheads Solari’s aggressive pressing tactics, teaming up with wingers to shut down opponents in midfield while hustling forward to participate in counterattacks. Aquino has proven to be a bigger offensive threat (3 goals, 2 assists) than advertised, while Sánchez has demonstrated a renewed commitment to the team that has translated into solid productivity (2 goals, 3 assists).

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Meanwhile, the spindly Fidalgo has put his Real Madrid DNA on display with effortless performances. His quick movements and simple but pointed passes have helped América dissect defenses.

Critics had been quick to dismiss the 24-year-old Spaniard, arguing that his failure to win a spot on Madrid’s senior roster suggested he was not up to snuff. Solari, however, coached Fidalgo at the Madrid-affiliated club Castilla and urged management to acquire the playmaker. Since cracking América’s starting lineup in February, Fidalgo has been a quiet assassin.

3.     Defending their own Liga MX mark

Cruz Azul is chasing América’s record for points in a short season (43) and the Aguilas are eager to nip that effort in the bud.

Back in the Apertura 2002 season, América compiled 43 points, the standard for the short-season format that began in 1996. The Cementeros have 36 points with three games remaining, meaning they could finish with 45 points by winning out. With two wins and a tie, “La Máquina Azul” would finish with 43 points to equal the record.

During their record-setting season, the Aguilas posted a 13-4-2 record and a spectacular +20 goal differential. The alert reader will notice that the numbers add up to 19 games. That’s because Liga MX boasted 20 teams then, providing for 19 regular-season games instead of the 17-game schedule featured in the Guardianes 2021 calendar.

The league standard for points in a 17-game season – 41 – was set by León in the Clausura 2019, the same season in which the Esmeraldas won 12 games in a row to equal the mark set by Necaxa’s great amateur team of the 1930s known as “Los Once Hermanos.”