Matchday 10 curtain-raisers heavy on ‘relegation’ concerns

Naturally Liga MX resumes play with the two teams involved in last weekend’s horrendous incident at Estadio Corregidora helping to raise the curtain: Querétaro is at Necaxa in the weekend opener while Atlas visits FC Juárez at 9 p.m.

As we’ve dealt with the fallout from this tragic episode already (and will continue to report on it), we’ll try and focus on the football in this column. That will be a little easier to do since Liga MX officials arranged for the Necaxa-Querétaro game to be played behind closed doors. That’s right; no fans will be allowed into Estadio Victoria.

Beyond tonight, the Matchday 10 weekend features a “Super Clásico” – the 157 the regular-season meeting between América and the Chivas – but we’ll look closer at that, and other key M10 games, tomorrow.

Friday’s Liga MX triple-header is more about the “Relegation Standings” and the revival of preseason title contenders Monterrey.

Liga MX gets back to football

Though some critics thought the league should suspend the Clausura 2022 season until the investigation into the extreme violence played out further (oops, I said we’d be talking about the games … sorry), that was never going to happen.

Yes, the three Sunday games were canceled (and will be made up during the FIFA break), but it’s back to business as usual in Liga MX.

So while fans eagerly await Saturday night’s national derby in Guadalajara, we’ll have to make do with a less-than-stellar triple-header tonight. Four of the six teams playing – Querétaro, Necaxa, Mazatlán and FC Juárez – are all scrambling to escape the hefty fines associated with finishing in the bottom three of the “Relegation Standings.”

FC Juárez – in last place in the “demotion table” with nine games to go – looks likely to get slapped with financial sanctions, while Querétaro (13th place), Mazatlán (14th) and Necaxa (15th) are just above the “sanctions zone.” Oddly enough, FC Juárez, Necaxa and Querétaro are also battling for the 12th and final Liga MX playoff spot though the team that finishes last in the “Relegation Standings” is prohibited from participating in the postseason tournament.

Necaxa desperately needs a win to ease the pressure on new coach Jaime Lozano, especially as the Rayos are winless at home this season. Lozano has improved his club’s defense since taking over in mid-February, but he is still searching for a forward line combination that can score.

On the other side of the pitch, one must wonder how the Gallos will be affected by what happened at their stadium last Saturday, especially as their coach says he and some players have been getting phone threats over their alleged participation in the rioting. This despite the fact that video evidence clearly shows Hernán Cristante and some of his men actively trying to protect fans and stop the violence.

Atlas finds itself on the road again – in Cd. Juárez – sitting in fourth place after being awarded a 3-0 forfeit while trying to refocus on its title defense. The champs are again the stingiest defense in Liga MX but their offense has not been running smoothly.

Their hosts, the Bravos, face the Zorros on the tail end of a killer four-game stretch, having played León last week (a 1-0 loss), first place Puebla (1-1 draw), and the Tigres (a 3-2 loss) in succession. They’ll be grateful to see border rivals Tijuana (in 17th place in the “Relegation Standings”) next week. Well, except that the Xolos are on a two-game win streak, including a 2-0 win at Atlas on Feb. 25.

Against visiting Mazatlán Víctor Manuel Vucetich will try to follow up his successful return as Rayados coach (a 2-1 win over América) with a triumph over the struggling Cañoneros. “King Midas” will be without top striker Rogelio Funes Mori, however, as the Mexico international has been ruled out for at least a week with a right thigh injury suffered late in the game against the Aguilas.

Had Monterrey lost to América, the team with the biggest payroll in Liga MX would have found itself in last place. Instead, the Rayados leaped all the way up to 11th (and have two games in hand).

Mazatlán has replaced Monterrey in 17th place thanks to one of the worst offenses in Liga MX (just 9 goals in eight games). And the Cañoneros will be facing the Rayados without a head coach (former Juárez coach Gabriel Caballero is close to taking the job).

After slumming through the Friday calendar, Liga MX fans can prepare for a triple-header of tantalizing games on Saturday: Tigres at León, América at Guadalajara, and Pumas at Cruz Azul. That will be six hours of intense and (hopefully) entertaining football, and we’ll break down those games in our next dispatch.