The boys from the Mexican League did a great job this past weekend. The goal average was the highlight of the round, showing that the attackers started the season in a very inspired way.
Puebla vs. Santos was the game that had the most goals (5), while León 4-0 Pachuca was the biggest rout of the round. Only the confrontation between Pumas and Mazatlán disappointed football lovers: a dull game, without goals and with many fouls.
In these first rounds, it is still not possible to point out a team that has a great chance of ending the season in the first place. As we know, the Mexican championship is marked by its balance, in which at least 5 teams have a chance of winning the tournament.
Chivas Guadalajara was the only team that won its two games so far and, therefore, is the leader of the Apertura Tournament. There’s still a lot to happen. We are just at the beginning of this exciting Mexican football season.
Let’s check the analysis of the main games of Liga MX Apertura – Round 2.
Liga MX Round 2 Games:
- Puebla 2 x 3 Santos;
- Necaxa 1 x 1 Tijuana;
- Cruz Azul 0 x 2 Toluca;
- Guadalajara 3 x 1 Atlético San Luís;
- Juárez 1 x 1 Tigres;
- Pumas 0 x 0 Mazatlán;
- Monterrey 1 x 0 Atlas;
- León 4 x 0 Pachuca
Apertura MX 2023 Matchday 2 Roundup – Puebla 2-3 Santos Laguna
When:
Friday, July 7 at 09:00 PM ET in the Cuauhtécmoc Stadium
Moneyline odds:
Santos Laguna +162
Puebla +150
Draw Offs:
+270
Where Can I Watch it?
VIX+, Fox Sports Mexico, and TUDN USA
After a bad Clausura tournament, Puebla and its fans were excited with the new campaign, as they had a new chance to start on the right foot and fight for the top four as they did not long ago. However, far from reality. In the first game, they took a good point at the Universitario Stadium, dominating the champions at will and almost getting a victory. But, that seems to have been an illusion, as against Santos we saw a different face.
On their home debut, they were more effective, but their defensive performance fell off a cliff, allowing a whopping ten shots on goal from the visitors and three goals. They had possession of the ball again but were incapable of reacting to La Comarca’s offensive approach. A Harold Preciado’s double and Brunetta’s goal annulled the efforts from Mancuello (at minute two) and Angulo.
Whatever the case, from a neutral point of view it was an excellent match.
Apertura MX 2023 Matchday 2 Roundup – León 4 – 0 Pachuca
When:
Monday, July 10 at 10:00 pm ET at Estadio León
Moneyline odds:
León +142
Pachuca +182
Draw Offs:
+255
Where Can I Watch it?
VIX+, Fox Sports Mexico, and TUDN USA
The last champion of the Apertura tournament was the one who suffered the heaviest defeat of the round. Pachuca, who had drawn their debut game, was undeniably defeated and left the field bewildered.
Léon scored three goals in the first half and had the great inspiration of midfielder Jesús Ricardo Ângulo, who scored a goal and actively participated in the main plays of his team.
Pachuca kicked the same number of balls as its opponent, but the aim was disappointing. Nearly half of those shots went wide, while the remainder were blocked by the opposing defense. León had more possession of the ball, more corners, and much more efficiency when facing the opposing goalkeeper. Fair result and the sixth position achieved by the Esmeraldas.
Apertura MX 2023 Matchday 2 Roundup – Cruz Azul 0 – 2 Toluca
When:
Saturday, July 08th – 07:50 pm ET at the Azteca Stadium
Moneyline odds:
Cruz Azul +130
Toluca +189
Draw offs:
+270
Where Can I Watch?
A new tournament and, again, La Maquina starts with the engines off again.
Cruz Azul debuted in the Mexican league, losing 2-0 to Atlas, but believed that just being in contact with their fans was enough to reverse their bad luck in the first game. This did not happen. The blue team was beaten again – and by the same score – and is now bitter at the bottom of the table.
Things didn’t seem to go well for the hosts when the referee awarded a penalty to Toluca in the 36th minute of the first half. The Brazilian goalkeeper, Tiago Volpi, converted the penalty and opened the scoring for the visitors. In addition to having conceded a goal by a goalkeeper, Cruz Azul Sebastián Jurado received a red card after handling the ball, leaving the team with one player less.
The homeowners were unable to react to such an atypical scenario. With no chances, they succumbed to their opponent’s attacks and conceded another goal at the end of the game. With the victory, Toluca rose to second place and prepares for another battle for the top positions.
As we already know, Cruz Azul has the quality to turn the situation around, with good players that were champions not long ago and are capable of getting several victories in a row. However, this trend of starting the season totally out of it has already cost them some humiliations, like spending almost all of the first half of the last tournament at the bottom or getting totally destroyed by Amèrica (7-0). So, it must end soon.
EN 
ES 
PT 
PT_BR