Toluca dethrones León, Liga MX crown up for grabs

Wildcard Weekend provided a pair of upsets while a second-half Chivas collapse denied fútbol fans of a second consecutive Super Clásico in the quarterfinals. One thing we do know, however, is that there will be a new champion as León’s title defense dissipated in a penalty shoot-out.

Three of the four “repechaje” matches provided some taut playoff soccer with Atlas and Toluca playing spoilers. The Zorros knocked out the favored Tigres to send “Tuca” Ferretti into the unemployment line, while the Diablos Rojos stunned holders León despite a late bid by the champs to avoid the upset.

The events of Wildcard Weekend provided us with the following match-ups to kick off the “Liguilla:” No. 1 Cruz Azul vs No. 11 Toluca; No. 2 América vs No. 8 Pachuca; No. 3 Puebla vs No. 7 Atlas; and No. 4 Monterrey vs No. 5 Santos.

Atlas outfoxes Tigres in Liga MX playoff opener

Despite being the higher seed, Atlas figured to succumb to the powerhouse Tigres who boasted one of the highest payrolls in Liga MX. The scrappy Zorros threw the oddsmakers for a loop when their bench boosted “los Rojinegros” into the quarterfinals.

Less than one minute after coming on as subs, Ignacio Malcorra and Julio Furch combined to put the game-winner past Nahuel Guzmán.

Coming on in the 77th minute of a scoreless game, the two veterans finished off a fine combination play that started from a sloppy outlet pass by the Tigres goalie. Christopher Trejo fed Diego Barbosa on the right flank and he crossed into the half-moon where Renato Ibarra collected the pass, spun and sprung Malcorra into the box on the left side. Malcorra – normally a starter – thumped a low cross across the goal mouth where a lunging Furch was able to get his right boot onto and redirect it into the net.

The goal held up, putting an end to “Tuca” Ferretti’s record-setting term as Tigres coach. The elimination ends a bitter season for the legendary manager (tied for most Liga MX titles won – 7) who guided Tigres to the FIFA Club World Cup finals appearance (a first for a Liga MX club) only to watch his team stumble and stutter their way to a 10 seed and a disappointing wildcard showing.

The league’s other Guadalajara-based team was not so fortunate.

After claiming a wildcard berth thanks to a 3-1-0 stretch run, the Chivas went into Pachuca’s Estadio Hidalgo and had the Tuzos on the ropes. A nifty Alexis Vega through pass in minute 10 was deposited in the net by Uriel Antuna and “El Rebaño Sagrado” led 1-0 at the break.

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Early in the second half, Antuna was in alone on Oscar Ustari but the Argentine keeper got down quickly to palm the low shot out of harm’s way. Prior to that, Jesús Angulo was also denied by the Olympic gold medal-winning goalie (Beijing 2008).

Those missed opportunities came back to haunt Chivas when Pachuca equalized off a set piece in the 51st minute. The failure to mark Oscar Murillo on a corner kick was the first in a series of defensive breakdowns. Murillo would score off another corner and Roberto de la Rosa contributed a brace of his own on two brilliant solo runs.

Pachuca took the lead when Chivas defender “Tiba” Sepúlveda fell down while backing up in pursuit of a high pass. Linemate Luis Olivas failed to cover up, coming up short with a tackle and De la Rosa waltzed in alone on José Antonio Rodríguez before slotting home.

Nine minutes after Murillo headed in his second, De la Rosa collected a loose ball near midfield with his back to goal, turned and dribbled unchallenged to the top of the half-moon before ripping a shot inside the left post.

Late goal fails to inspire León

Esmeraldas captain Luis Montes was forced to watch from a box seat as his mates floundered against the swarming Red Devils of Toluca. Montes was serving the second of a two-game suspension slapped on him for the vicious elbow he delivered to the chest of Mazatlán FC’s Michael Rangel.

Without their skipper – the heart-and-soul of their ball-control offense – “La Fiera” looked hesitant with the ball and the Diablos’ pressure defense took advantage of the uncertainty.

Toluca’s Kevin Castañeda scored early after his mid-range shot took a deflection, but the champs tied it just before the half. Alexis Canelo – leading scorer in Liga MX with 11 goals – put the visitors back in the lead in the 58th minute but the Esmeraldas refused to relinquish their title without a fight.

A minute before time was up, teenager Fidel Ambriz – son of coach Ignacio Ambriz – equalized with a laser from 25 meters, sending the game to penalty kicks. It seemed that coach Ambriz – who had announced he would not be signing a contract extension – had gotten a reprieve. But it was not to be.

The Diablos converted all four of their spot kicks while Joel Campbell was denied by Luis García and Víctor Dávila sent his shot wide of net. That was all she wrote for the champs.

The fourth wildcard series proved to be a mismatch as the fifth-seeded Guerreros of Santos Laguna walloped No. 12 Querétaro 5-0.