América, Monterrey stagger toward Matchday 9 showdown

Scoring was at a premium as Matchday 8 kicked off with a quintuple-header. The Liga MX Midweek Matchday continues Wednesday night with four more contests.

Only seven goals were produced on a night that saw FC Juárez battle Liga MX leaders Puebla to a 1-1 draw while América continued its historically poor start, coughing up a late lead at home.

Caretaker coach Hugo Castillo watched his struggling Monterrey side settle for a scoreless draw at León after a 90-minute take-no-prisoners slugging match. Tijuana stole away from Toluca with 3 points, defeating the slumping Diablos 2-1 thanks to an 85th-minute Joaquín Montecinos goal.

Finally, at the Kraken in Mazatlán, Necaxa and the Cañoneros fought to a scoreless stalemate in a game that had relegation consequences and little else of interest.

Liga MX table still standing on its head

Preseason title favorites Monterrey (5 points) and América (5 points) sit in 16th and 17th place, respectively. They didn’t help their prospects of re-entering the Liga MX playoff chase Tuesday, finishing the night with 1 point each.

At Estadio Azteca, América took an early 1-0 led over Liga MX weakling Querétaro but did not take hold of the match. Alejandro Zendejas was shown red just before halftime and the Gallos tilted the field toward Guillermo Ochoa but could not get clean looks at goal.

Querétaro had a man sent off in minute 68’ and the game turned into a slog. Then a rash Luis Fuentes swing caught an opponent’s leg inside the box and Gallos striker Ángel Sepúlveda calmly slotted home the penalty as the clock ticked 90+3.

The tie could cost Santiago Solari his job after América dropped yet more points at home. The Aguilas have not won at Fortress Azteca since Oct. 23 (0-2-4). They’ll travel to Monterrey on Saturday, but we’ll have to wait and see if Solari makes the trip.

For its part, Monterrey awaits its new coach. Javier Aguirre was canned over the weekend and Víctor Manuel Vucetich is thought to be the top candidate. Vucetich guided the Rayados to two Liga MX titles and three Concacaf Champions League trophies in a row during the franchise’s Glory Years a decade ago.

In León, Rayados keeper Esteban Andrada and his Esmeraldas counterpart, Rodolfo Cota, played a game-long “Can you top this!?” each making brilliant saves to preserve clean sheets.

Monterrey came out on the front foot, aggressive on both offense and defense. Then the home team’s flowing attack forced the Rayados – the team with the highest payroll in Liga MX – to retrench a bit.

“La Fiera” boasts one of the smoothest offenses in Liga MX, but The Green Machine has lacked precision in the final third. The same was true Tuesday: 15 shots, just 3 on target.

The game reached fever pitch late in the second half with end-to-end action, culminating in a minute 89 penalty that Monterrey’s big winter acquisition, Luis Romo, scuffed badly.

This sets up Saturday’s clash at the Estadio BBVA Bancomer as the top Liga MX attraction in the fast-approaching Matchday 9.

Liga MX leaders stumble

Soccer purists might argue that the Cruz Azul-Puebla match is the marquee game on Matchday 9. Surely watching first-place Puebla visit the fourth-place Cementeros is preferable to a battle of cellar-dwellers.

We shall see. Puebla looked average at home against FC Juárez, trailing late against a team that only took two shots all night. The Camoteros’ hero was 21-year-old defender Alberto Herrera who bagged his first Liga MX goal in minute 70 to salvage a 1-1 draw.

The result means Pachuca and the Tigres can leap-frog Puebla at the top of the Liga MX table. And Cruz Azul must recover from the gut-punch of another late-game collapse, losing 2-1 to last-place Santos Laguna on Sunday despite dominating the entire 90 minutes. That won’t be easy since they play the afore-mentioned Tigres.

Finally, Necaxa came away from Mazatlán with a key road point. That’s little consolation since they stink at home (0-0-3 with a 1-8 goal differential). The draw does little for the current Liga MX season, but the point is valuable for what it means in the “Relegation Standings.”

The Rayos trail Mazatlán by 1 point in the demotion zone and are just one slot above the final three – penalized – spots. They’ll need to improve under new coach Jaime Lozano to avoid paying a hefty fine.

As for the Cañoneros, they might have done just enough to save coach Beñat St. José’s job. They play the Pumas on Sunday, then have Monterrey and León awaiting before the FIFA break. The Spaniard might hang onto his post until then.

Wednesday’s quadruple header features second-place Pachuca visiting fifth-place – and Liga MX champion – Atlas, third-place Tigres hosting fourth-place Cruz Azul, plus Pumas at Santos and Guadalajara at Atlético de San Luis.