Liga MX season off to quiet start
In the shadow of the European Championships and the Copa América, the Apertura 2024 season kicked off this past weekend and the two Liga MX teams that claimed hardware last season both came away with losses.
Liga MX champs América took one on the chin, losing 2-1 at Atlético de San Luis despite fielding nearly a first-choice team while Pachuca – Concacaf Champions Cup winners – were shut out at home by Monterrey.
The Tuzos – like several Liga MX clubs – were playing with an incomplete roster. With the transfer deadline still nearly two months away, several teams are still cobbling together their squads, while others are affected by the fact that come players remain on Copa América duty.
Pachuca, for instance, was without forward Salomón Rondón – joint top scorer in Liga MX last season – as he led Venezuela to a quarterfinals appearance where "los vinotintos" were eliminated on Friday.
Other Liga MX stars still performing in the continental tournament include Atlas goalie Camilo Vargas (Colombia), Toluca winger Maxi Araujo (Uruguay) and América defender Sebastián Cáceres (Uruguay).
Two others – Mazatlán FC's Édgar Bárcenas (Panama) and Eduard Bello (Venezuela) – will be returning to Mexico after their respective teams were eliminated this past week.
In San Luis Potosí, the two-time defending champs dominated possession, but struggled to generate much offense. Henry Martín supplied the lone goal (surpassing the legendary Enrique Borja to move into fifth place on América's all-time scoring list with 105), but the Aguilas conceded two goals, something they did only twice all of last season.
Elsewhere in Liga MX, Puebla matched its win total from last season, defeating visiting Santos Laguna 1-0 on Friday night. Also Friday, Tijuana won 2-1 at Querétaro (the Xolos did not pick up their first win of the Clausura 2024 until Matchday 15, finishing with just two victories) and FC Juárez and Atlas battled to a 2-2 draw.
On Saturday, in addition to Atleti's 2-1 upset of América, Tigres rode an Andrés-Pierre Gignac penalty to a 1-0 win over visiting Necaxa, Guadalajara and Toluca settled for a scoreless draw and last season's losing finalist Cruz Azul edged Mazatlán FC 1-0.
On Sunday, in addition to Monterrey's 1-0 win at Pachuca, UNAM thumped León 4-1, leaving the Pumas perched atop the standings.