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Streaking América soars to top of Liga MX table

By Thomas Buckley

Henry Martín (center) and América came away from Ciudad Juárez with a 2-1 win over the Bravos. (Photo by Alejandro Rodriguez/Jam Media/Getty Images)
Henry Martín (center) and América came away from Ciudad Juárez with a 2-1 win over the Bravos. (Photo by Alejandro Rodriguez/Jam Media/Getty Images) /
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Liga MX Week 5, 2
The Chivas appeared to be outmanned throughout their match against León, falling to the visiting Esmeraldas by a 3-0 score. (Photo by Refugio Ruiz/Getty Images) /

The Aguilas won their fourth straight Liga MX match to move one point clear of León (a 3-0 winner at Chivas) at the top of the standings.

Roger Mártinez scored just seconds after Martín Galván had put host FC Juárez ahead in minute 31 and Álvaro Fidalgo netted the winner 7 minutes after the restart.

The road win takes América to 13 points (4-1-0) although the Mexico City powerhouse has benefited from a rather easy schedule. Among their victims, only Atlas (7th place) sits in the top half of the table while Necaxa (11th), Puebla (14th) and FC Juárez (17th) hold up the bottom of the standings.

The Aguilas will be heavy favorites in Sunday’s match against Tijuana (16th place), but will get their first real test on Aug. 28 when they travel to face León.

Esmeraldas cruise past Chivas

León appeared to be in for a long season after getting battered by Pachuca in the season opener. “La Fiera” was under the direction of a new coach (Ariel Holan replaced Ignacio Ambriz) while management tweaked the roster. But since the 4-0 spanking by the Tuzos, the Esmeraldas have been world-beaters, outscoring their four opponents 9-1 to match América’s four-game win streak.

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The Green Machine is home for its next two contests – against last season’s Liga MX finalist Santos Laguna and against table-topping América – before going on the road to face the Tigres. We’ll know much more about León after that Matchday 8 clash.

In contrast to the Esmeraldas, Guadalajara appears to be a train wreck. The Chivas are 1-2-2 and coach Víctor Manuel Vucetich is under enormous pressure after yet another disappointing performance in the young season.

The “most popular team in Liga MX” is winless at home (0-1-2) and on Saturday travels to Monterrey where the title-favorites would like nothing better than to knock Chivas fans off their pedestal. If Guadalajara fails to get a win before the September FIFA break (Necaxa visits on Aug. 28), coach Vucetich could be out of a job.

Liga MX favorites play to draw

The Rayados prepared for the Chivas by stealing a point from holders Cruz Azul when sub José Alvarado scored a later header to earn a 1-1 draw at Estadio Azteca.

The Cementeros appeared set to win a third straight after “Cabecita” Rodríguez put “La Máquina” up from the penalty spot, but a rash tackle by Ignacio Rivero in midfield earned an 86th-minute red card. Monterrey dominated the final seconds, bombarding Andrés Gudiño with crosses and centering passes before “Plátano” rose above the Cruz Azul defense and looped a header into the netting.

Elsewhere Wednesday, visiting Atlas equalized Santos Laguna 1-1 in the Orlegi Bowl (both teams are owned/operated by Grupo Orlegi).

Next. Tigres roar, Rayos find a spark. dark

Liga MX continues its marathon week (26 games in 11 days) on Friday night when Mazatlán FC hosts the Tigres to kick off Matchday 6.

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