3 things to watch for at midway point of Apertura 2022

Liga MX schedule-makers have provided us with another Midweek Matchday that will move teams through to the second half of the Apertura 2022 season with plenty of fascinating story lines.

Three teams – Toluca, Monterrey and Tigres – have already separated themselves from the rest of the pack and Monterrey will play the other two in the next five days.

Three members of the Big Four – Guadalajara, UNAM and Cruz Azul – are in the bottom third of the Liga MX table and showing little signs of life.

But today we’ll prioritize the shabby quality of officiating, an issue that is more than a headache. It is threatening the integrity of Liga MX.

Liga MX has a Men in Black problem

For several seasons now, Liga MX referees have been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Before the start of the Apertura 2022, Referees Commission director Arturo Brizio stepped down and was replaced by Armando Archundia. Both men were renowned officials themselves, each with experience in two World Cups.

Brizio was accused of playing favorites, allowing underperforming officials to remain in the rotation. With Archundia stepping in, Liga MX observers hoped that a new generation of refs would be given opportunities, and second-rate veterans would be shuffled aside.

Through the first seven matchdays, there were poor performances as Archundia sought to reorganize the commission’s operations. Then came Matchday 8.

The two refs that called last season’s Liga MX Finals – Fernando Hernández and Marco Antonio Ortiz – had dreadful games.

Hernández directly impacted the outcome of the Cruz Azul-Toluca game by red-carding Cementeros goalie Sebastián Jurado and calling a penalty in stoppage time. It took less than 24 hours for Archundia and his commissioners to revoke Jurado’s red card and reinstate him. But the result could not be overturned and “La Máquina” finds itself 15th in the Liga MX table.

Ortiz bumbled his way through the “Clásico Tapatío,” three times trotting to the sideline to consult the video screen about calls that he missed, further infuriating Liga MX fans who feel officials are indecisive and relying on VAR to make the calls.

But even then, the officials are making poor decisions, forcing Archundia and Enrique Osses – the man in charge of training Liga MX referees – to face the media and explain the mistakes, while also apologizing to offended teams.

The errors were egregious enough that Hernández and Ortiz were not given assignments for Matchday 9.

A three-team race 

Over the next three weeks, the battle for Liga MX supremacy might well be decided as the top three teams will take part in a round-robin showdown of sorts.

Toluca (20 points), Monterrey (19) and Tigres (18) have separated themselves from the pack as we hit the halfway point (Pachuca and Necaxa are next with 12 points).

Monterrey will be in Toluca Wednesday with first place on the line. And there’s no rest for the Rayados as they host the Tigres on Saturday. Monterrey – the most prolific team in Liga MX (19 goals in 8 matches) – could steal the inside track to the No. 1 seed, especially if Arturo González remains red hot. “Ponchito” leads Liga MX with 9 goal contributions (4 goals, 5 assists), with 5 of those coming in the past two contests.

After the “Clásico Regiomontano” on Aug. 20, Tigres and Toluca will complete the round-robin on Sept. 7 when “los Choriceros” pay a visit to “El Volcán.” Tigres will be coming off a game in Estadio Azteca against a rapidly improving América side, so the Diablos Rojos might enjoy a slight advantage.

By the end of the Tigres-Toluca match, we’ll have a much clearer picture of potential seeding for the Liga MX playoffs.

Belying the label ‘Big Four’

Alone among the so-called “Big Four,” América is contending for a Liga MX playoff berth. Though sitting in an unimpressive 9th place, the Aguilas have a game in hand and are coming off a 3-0 rout of UNAM in the “Clásico Capitalino.”

The other three members of the club are in a shambles. Collectively, UNAM (13th place), Cruz Azul (15th) and Guadalajara (17th) have won just 3 of 23 games.

The Chivas rescued a point from Atlas in Saturday’s Guadalajara derby but “El Rebaño Sagrado” remains winless on the season. The team was so disheartened at the poor start to the Apertura 2022 that the players appeared en masse at the post-game press conference and apologized to their supporters. Then, captain Isaac Brizuela announced that Guadalajara’s next home game – against league-leading Monterrey on Aug. 23 – would be free to all fans.

The Chivas are 0-6-2 and coach Ricardo Cadena is hanging on by a thread. Next up is a trip to Aguascalientes to face Necaxa in a last-gasp match for the manager.

Though Cruz Azul was jobbed by poor officiating over the weekend, the Cementeros are in complete disarray. GM Jamie Ordiales completely flubbed the transfer window, failing to fulfill a single request made by new coach Diego Aguirre before departing an executive position with  El Tri.

The front office is still scrambling to bring in personnel – left back Alonso Escoboza was acquired this week and central defender Ramiro Funes Mori made his debut on Sunday. Former Toluca forward Michael Estrada was signed last week, but it’s asking a bit much of the embattled Aguirre to manage a roster still in flux as we enter the second half of the season.

As for UNAM, August has not been kind to the Pumas. “Los felinos” entered the Mexico City derby as the lone undefeated team in Liga MX, but they were coming off a 6-0 shellacking at the hands of Barcelona. América promptly handed UNAM a giant “L.”

Coach Andrés Lillini must wonder if the wheels are coming off his Pumas squad, and answers will be demanded on Thursday when UNAM travels to San Luis Potosí to face the Tuneros. The Pumas have scored just 7 goals in 7 games and much was expected from the Dinenno-Salvio-Del Prete trident leading the Pumas’ attack.

If this stumbling trio hopes to make the Liga MX playoffs, immediate reaction is required. Key games to watch will be Saturday’s Cruz Azul at América clash and the Aug. 27 Pumas at Chivas match.