Liga MX quarterfinals: Dubious calls mar openers
Toluca handed top-seeded Cruz Azul its first loss in 20 games and will take a 2-1 lead into Estadio Azteca for Saturday’s decisive second-leg Liga MX quarterfinals match.
In Wednesday’s other quarterfinals opener, No. 7 seed Atlas edged No. 3 Puebla 1-0. Giving credence to the season-long lament about the poor quality of Liga MX officiating, controversy surrounds the winning goal in both games.
The quarterfinals continue Thursday when No. 8 Pachuca hosts No. 2 América and No. 4 Monterrey pays a visit to No. 5 Santos Laguna.
No. 1 Liga MX team opens Liguilla on wrong foot
Cruz Azul coach Juan Reynoso outsmarted himself, switching up his starting line-up and leaving out the team’s top scorer Jonathan Rodríguez and playmaker Orbelín Pineda. The decision was magnified as the replacements – Brayan Angulo and Walter Montoya – squandered glorious scoring opportunities.
Toluca took advantage of their opponent’s makeshift line-up, holding more than 60% possession in the first 45 minutes although the game was tied 1-1 at the half.
In the second half, ref Marco Antonio Ortiz bought a Rubens Sambueza flop in the box and awarded the host Diablos Rojos a penalty – their second of the match – and the resulting spot kick by Michael Delgado turned out to be the difference.
Rodríguez and Pineda subbed in before the hour mark, but the Cementeros could not develop an offensive rhythm and settled for sending crosses into the box where the taller, more physical Toluca defenders comfortably cleared the ball out of danger. And when called upon, Diablos Rojos goalie Luis García came off his line to latch onto the centering passes.
Cruz Azul must win at home on Saturday or see a record-setting Liga MX season gone to waste.
The nightcap can best be described as the Liga MX version of NHL hockey. Ref Luis Enrique Santander allowed both teams the freedom to emulate the “clutch and grab” style of play often seen in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Hacking tackles and physical play were the norm at Estadio Jalisco – Puebla had 13 fouls in the first half alone.
In the second half, Atlas started to find more room to operate, creating several scoring opportunities before Jairo Torres snuck in behind the Puebla defense and tapped home a headed pass from Jesús Angulo in minute 59.
Replays showed that as Torres and the defenders were trotting out of the box after a Puebla clearance attempt, the Atlas winger was not onside when he reacted first to the Angulo re-center. Despite consulting with VAR officials, ref Santander allowed the goal to stand without taking a look at video.
The loss was Puebla’s first since March 12 and that came against Atlas, too, back on Matchday 11 in Estadio Cuauhtémoc, the site of Saturday’s second leg.