So last weekend Liguilla started.

Monterrey vs America – With the recent passing of ex-rayado, Antonio De Nigris, his brother, Aldo came out and scored the only goal to put Monterrey with the advantage heading into the Azteca this coming Saturday. America has been good playing well lately and started Liguilla with some good motivation from Pardo. We will see if they can pull it off againt a somewhat sentimental Monterrey team. My pick is for the wilas to take it!

Puebla vs Cruz Azul - This one was a fun game. 8 goals total in a 4-4 tie. Borgetti scores a goal to bring some excitement and pull Puebla up before halftime. I even liked his dyed line of hair. Meh, ok, maybe not. Cruz Azul came back and tied it up for a good advantage going back home to Estadio Azul. Cruz Azul is one of my favorites, despite past dissapointment in big games/tourneys. They ended the regular season on fire and have leading goal scorer Emanuel Villa. Jimmy Lozano got 2 goals for the Cementeros. My pick is Cruz Azul takes the next game to advance.

San Luis vs Toluca – Toluca, usually a strong contender has been weak of late. They took a loss in San Luis in the 1st leg. This is a toss up but I think San Luis will take it in a rowdy Nemesio Diaz.

Santos vs Morelia – Santos has been on a high as of late. With a new stadium, a win over Santos from Brazil. Some say Oswaldo is better than Ochoa right now. Santos got the 1st leg win 2-1 over a Morelia team that has been strong all season, with goal scorer Miguel Sabah. I think Santos takes this win and advances.

Toluca held posession from the very start, with some good midfield work and attack on goal.

The first goal came by an excellent pass from the left side crossing the field over all Cruz Azul defenders and on the head of Paolo Da Silva for a header past Yosgart Gutierrez. Some weak coverage by Jaime Lozalo gave Paolo enough space to get a good head on it and punch it past the keeper. An excellent pass from Zinha.

The next goal was off a free kick placed slightly to the right, in front of the goal. Sergio Amaury Ponce took the kick and put it just past the right post away from a stretched out Gutierrez. Once again, Lugo on the wall, halfway jumped and let the ball go just passed his head and into the goal. Failure of a good wall allowed the goal.

Cruz Azul couldnt generate any offense against the Toluca defenders until late in the 2nd half. Even then Cristante and company did their Job for the shutout.

“Abuelito” Lapuente had a great expression on his face at the end of the Tigres – Pumas game. It was a tough fought game, with little Puma’s offense. Leandro Agusto was really missed. Tigres had some good chances and pressed the Puma’s defense.

Surprise, 90th minute goals, put Tigres away 2-0. The look on Lapuente’s face was great. Surprise, and anger. You could tell he was not very amused. Palencia did it for Pumas with a hard fought pass for goal. Then a goal of his own in minute 93.

Here is the rest of the weeks results:

Jaguares 2 – 1 Indios
San Luis 1 – 2 América – Did San Luis give it up to their felow partner/father.
Pachuca 5 – 2 Chivas – Chivas is in deep. New coach?
Tigres 0 – 2 Pumas
Atlas 2 – 0 Puebla
Atlante 1 – 1 Cruz Azul
Morelia 2 – 2 Tecos – Tecos should lose from now on, with Herrera as coach.
Toluca 0 – 0 Monterrey
Santos 1 – 1 Necaxa

Yesterday in action:

Pachuca vs Puebla, 2-0. Finally a win for Pachuca and another bad result for Puebla. Chelis must be furious.

Tigres vs Atlante, 1-0. Tigres surprises and beats an Atlante team that was on a streak.

Morelia vs Indios, 0-1. Indios with their first win this season. Congrats.

Atlas vs America, 1-1. Diaz needs to get lost and bring back Brailovski. Ok, maybe I’m kidding. They are still struggling.

Necaxa vs Monterrey, 0-1. Monterrey with another goal from Chupete Suazo.

Chivas gets an important away win in Venezuela vs Aragua, 2-1. They were down 1-0, but came back to pull it off. Greatly influenced by Omar Arellano by the way. The guy is good.

So this tournament is underway. Cruz Azul beat Hankook Verdes 6-0 in an empty Estadio Azul. The game was basically decided in the first 30 minutes.

Entry to the stadium was discounted 50% and kids were allowed for free. Still not very many people showed. It makes me wonder why Javier Orozco was pointing at his number/name on the back of his jersey after he scored the goal. Was there actually someone watching?

Remember, there is still a return leg in Guatemala. Apparently the stadiums in Belize are not suitable for these kinds of high level matches, so they have to resort to Guatemala.

Pachuca vs America, 1-1, This was a good game. America goes down 1 man for some rough play. Pachuca goes up by 1, then with a man down America ties it. America had some chances though. Cabañas hits the post twice, and Esqueda hits the crossbar once. Worst of all was Pachuca, who had a chance at an open net about 2 yards away from goal and the dude launches it above the cross bar. Pachuca’s defense seems to have some weaknesses to allow America back in it and have good opportunities while down a man.

Monterrey vs Tecos, 2-4, The revenge of De Pinho! Tecos is cruising and with 2 goals from Robert De Pinho and 1 from the old man Rodrigo Ruiz, then another goal assisted by De Pinho, Tecos owned Monterrey. Lavolpe was in the stands.

Atlas vs San Luis, 0-1, San Luis is just a solid team. They get the result, they play good defense, they score when needed. Even away in Jalisco, they took it to Atlas and played efficient ball.

Toluca vs Puebla, 3-1, The return of Zinha! Just for a bit but it seems he is back. Toluca gets a win and Puebla head coach talks trash afterwards. Its always good to watch this animated head coach, Mr. Jose Luis Sola. He flamed the refs for a red card that was given to rookie player Rodrigo Salinas on a tackle. It wasnt totally malicious but a hard tackle. Sola, was upset, started blaming the ref and got up saying he didn’t want to get fined or punished so it would be better if he left.

Necaxa vs Chivas, 2-2, Chivas new goalkeeper made a grave error in this match, letting a ball slip underneath him and in the goal. Sometimes he plays well, and other times, no.

Santos vs Indios, 3-0, Santos finally gets a win against a dismal Indios team. Arce scored one, and the other ‘Mexican’ Vuouso missed a penalty. He is preparing for his stint on the Mexican National Team.

Morelia vs Pumas, 1-0, Pumas played conservative and gave up the point. A late goal by Elias Hernandez put Pumas away.

Tigres vs Cruz Azul, this match will happen at a later date as CA is in Spain on a tour.

Hasta Luego

Cruz Azul vs Tecos, 2-0

Solid Cruz Azul takes out leader Tecos. Cruz Azul is once again starting to be very impressive. Jaime Lozano providing some excellent services for both goals. Does he deserve a NT callup?

San Luis vs Jaguares, 2-0

San Luis aint no joke. They play a very strong, ordered and agresssive game. Jaguares defense was just terrible, and they are still struggling with out their players that are suspended. Remember that fight that broke out after the Cruz Azul liguilla game?

Indios vs Necaxa, 2-3

Indios cant get a break, even against a poor Necaxa team, they end up losing. They gave it a good try scoring 2 goals, but Necaxa brought it just a bit more.

Chivas vs Monterrey, 1-1

In the premier game of the weekend, there was some intense controversy. First a questionable penalty called against Monterrey. It looked good to me, although the contact may not have been as rough as it looked. Ramoncito, as usual, takes the PK and misses it. It clearly looked as if he nonchallontly took it, but wait, a Rayado player entered the area and the ref calls it for a retake. Lavolpe went bezerk, entering the field to complain and yell at the ref, who went back to confront Lavolpe. The Argentine was furious yelling at everyone, even putting his hand on an official who was trying to escort him off the field. Borgetti after the game made a comment about the call to retake the penalty, saying that if everthing was called that tight, then penalties would be retaken very often. Sure, they should call it tight, to force compliance. Anyways, Monterrey gets the tying goal and justifies the result.

Tigres vs Atlas, 3-0

Kikin has came out of nowhere as wall as Tigres to get a good win over Atlas. Kikin finally scores, WOW. Blas Perez with another one. People are saying, that all of Sven’s callups are doing good. Check out Andrea’s blog, here.

Atlante vs Pachuca, 2-1

Atlante with a comeback. El Hobbit Bermudez with an assist and goal to beat Pachuca. This guy is good, although really small, he has great technical ability.

Pumas vs Toluca, 2-1

Pumas went down early in this one off a great pass for goal to the center of the box by Ponce. This came in the 7th minute. Fernando Espinoza ties it up and then Leandro Augusto bust in the winner with an incredible long range left foot shot that touches the left post, impossible for Goalkeeper Cristante to reach. Great win and start for this Pumas squad.

Puebla vs Santos, 0-0

Again the champs not doing well. Haven’t won a game yet. I believe there were some scuffles in this game however…

America vs Morelia, 1-1

Still not impressing the Aguilas. A tie is not what the fans expect from the powerhouse Mexican club.

No Friday games.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 9
Galavision
San Luis vs. Jaguares – 6 PM ET / 5 PM CT / 3 PM PT live
– San Luis going for another win against a weak and struggling Jaguares team. I am a fan of Bofo and I hope they get out of this stint. Itamar Batista will be out as he was red carded last game.

Azteca America
Cruz Azul vs. Tecos – 6 PM ET / 5 PM CT / 3 PM PT live
– This should be a good one, Tecos is on top of the table just below San Luis and has been impressive. Cruz Azul is playing good as well, it should be a tough match, but Torrado is back and has a game under his belt.

Fox Sports en Español
Indios vs. Necaxa – 8 PM ET / 7 PM CT / 5 PM PT live
– Battle of Mediocres, Indios needs a win, Nechaflas, needs something as well.

Telefutura
Chivas vs. Monterrey – 8 PM ET / 7 PM CT / 5 PM PT live
– The match of the day, folks! The rematch. Chivas looks for revenge. As stated in the Monterrey blog, the solution is bunker ball/counter attack to beat Chivas. Lets see if Monterrey can do it.

Galavision
Atlante vs. Pachuca – 10 PM ET / 9 PM CT / 7 PM PT live
– A match between Superliga losers. Hopefully a scuffle breaks out so we can get some more good entertainment. I see Pachuca taking this one.

Galavision
Tigres vs. Atlas – 12 AM ET / 11 PM CT / 9 PM PT (4hr tape delay)
– Lets see if Tigres is for real. Atlas should be without Botinelli with a red card and Blas may come in blasting. They are fighting for their non relegation life.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 10
Univision
Pumas vs. Toluca – 1 PM ET / 12 PM CT / 10 AM PT live
– This is a good one, Pumas is running good and Toluca may be losing some patience with Chepo de la Torre. Even though they got a win vs America, things may not be going well in Toluca if they lose this one.

Azteca America
Puebla vs. Santos – 3 PM ET / 2 PM CT / 12 PM PT live
– Santos needs to get this one. They havent won a game yet, but claim to be champions. They have the same team and need to step it up. This is a must win for them.

Telefutura
América vs. Morelia – 5 PM ET / 4 PM CT / 2 PM PT live
– Another must win for America. If they claim to truly be a new team. Cabanas seems to be the main bright spot. Lets see if someone else can step it up.

Ok, so Im late.

This past week of Mexican futbol was not bad.

First – Tecos vs Chivas 1-0. Chivas was robbed! Tecos went down a man, and still pulled out the win. Fatal error by the keeper resulted in the goal. Rodriguez thought the defense was going to play it back to him, but instead they returned the ball back to Tecos who shot at an empty net. Worst thing for Chivas, was Omar Arellano got injured and is out for about 3 weeks.

Jaguares vs Tigres 1-3. You know if you lose to Tigres your in bad shape. Blas Perez continues to impress. Kikin gets a boost as he is called up to the NT in Sven’s 2nd list.

Monterrey vs Indios 2-0. This one just shows how weak Indios are. They will probably give a good fight to Tigres for relegation. Monterrey is not bad, this dude, Carlos Ochoa aint bat at all.

Pachuca vs San Luis 2-3. Turned out to be a good one. San Luis really are gladiators and I hope they do well in Sudamericana. They recently beat Cruz Azul in a moved up week 6 game, so are officially Superleaders.

Atlas vs Cruz Azul, 2-4. Botinelli finally got owned. He gets a red card for diving. Cruz Azul played a good game, even though Miguel Sabah has been struggling to find the back of the net.

Necaxa vs Puebla, 0-0. If there arent any wierd junk from Pueblas coach, then this game was pretty much a bore.

Morelia vs Atlante, 0-0. Nothing much here either.

Toluca vs America, 2-1. An error from Guillermo Ochoa may have caused a goal vs Toluca. The ball came to him fast, a Toluca player cut in and Memo expected a deflection, when there was none, Memo mishandled the ball and it bounced back to a Mancilla for the score. Again a golazo from Cabanas.

Santos vs Pumas, 1-1. Champs couldnt beat the Pumas, but Pumas couldn’t hold on to the lead. Dante with another goal and the press goes crazy thinking he is the only person on Pumas doing anything.

Soon, a previow of Week 3!!