Mexican Primera Review: Even Unpredictable Leagues Have Predictable Weeks
The Mexican Primera is generally regarded as one of the most unpredictable leagues in the world, but this week’s action consisted of mostly predictable results. Santos Laguna and Monterrey re-asserted their superiority over their competition and both of this week’s clasicos ended with previously anticipated results.
After a few weeks of riding their brakes, Santos decided to punch the accelerator to get revenge on a Toluca side that defeated them in the final of the Bicentenario. Cristian Benitez continued his scintillating form, scoring the second of Santos’ two goals to give his team a 2-0 victory and himself 11 goals on the season. After great wins over Morelia and America in previous weeks, Toluca and their aging stars were finally exposed by a superior side. The catalysts of Toluca’s success, Zinha and Hector Mancilla, were nullified by a relentless Santos midfield.
Surprisingly, that midfield included Juan Rodriguez in place of Daniel Ludueña. The Argentine playmaker’s presence was hardly missed, though, as Rodriguez put in a solid performance, along with the superb Fernando Arce.
After steamrolling through the first four games in their schedule, Santos fell off the wagon a bit. However, from this performance, it’s obvious their losses were more due to indifference than obvious deficiencies. When Santos are motivated to dominate, they can dominate just about anyone they want.
That qualifier of "just about" is required only because of their main competition in Group 1, the immensely deep and talented Monterrey side that defeated Necaxa 2-1 at home. The score line is flattering to the visitors; Monterrey dominated the match and Necaxa’s goal came in stoppage time. It took only 12 minutes for Humberto Suazo to open the scoring and only another 14 minutes for Aldo De Nigris to add another. At that point, Monterrey slowed down a bit, content with their lead and the knowledge that their opponents were unlikely to challenge.
Even more impressive than the fact that Monterrey finished off a match in only 26 minutes is the fact that they didn’t need Sergio Santana, Dario Carreño or Dulio Davino to do it. When one looks at the Monterrey roster, their eyes gravitate toward Suazo, but the depth of the bench is the biggest reason why Monterrey remain undefeated.
In the Clasico Tapatio, Chivas de Guadalajara continued to disappoint, barely scraping out a home draw against rivals Atlas, who despite gaining four points from their last two matches, still sit at the bottom of the table in Mexico. The struggles of Chivas’ strikers continued as none of them got on the score sheet, even as Chivas scored twice in the 2-2 draw. The hosts went down twice, missed a penalty kick, and only pulled out a point in the end thanks to a terrible own goal from Atlas defender Nestor Vidrio.
Although Vidrio is the man who gave away the winner on the box score, more of the embarrassment will fall on Atlas attacking midfielder Gerardo Zuñiga, who was shown a second yellow card and sent off after scoring Atlas’ second goal.
As outrageous as that error may seem, it was hardly out of character for the scrappy derby match that featured six yellow cards given out to people not named Zuñiga, physical play and a variety of errors. No one could have expected a game where Atlas and Chivas were each able to score two goals, but the combination of intensity and sophomoric behavior, as well as a draw, were hardly out of the ordinary.
The week’s other clasico, Clasico Joven, featured an entertaining tie between Cruz Azul and Club America where the guests were always second best, except for their goalkeeper. Guillermo Ochoa put in a man-of-the-match worthy performance in net for America, despite losing the game. The only goal of the contest was scored on a midfield screamer by Christian Gimenez, and there was very little that Ochoa could do about it. The Mexican international saved an incredible 10 shots in the match, with about six of those saves being incredibly difficult and of substantial quality.
On the other end of the pitch, America failed to challenge Cruz Azul’s backup goalkeeper Yosgart Gutierrez. He was forced into a start because of a suspension to Cruz Azul’s No. 1 Jesus Corona, and it was surprising that the visitors made little attempt to test his ability to stop shots from distance. Gutierrez has proven to be a more than adequate backup keeper for Cruz Azul, recording six shutouts in his last nine appearances for the club.
Cruz Azul firmly established themselves in first place in Group 3 with this 1-0 win. Currently, they sit in the first overall spot for Liguilla seeding and nine points clear at the top of Group 3. Thanks to the dominance of Santos, America didn’t lose any ground in Group 2 and they still sit in second place, only one point behind Toluca.
Scores
- Estudiantes Tecos 0-0 Jaguares de Chiapas
- Monterrey 2-1 Necaxa
- San Luis 1-0 Tigres
- Santos Laguna 2-0 Toluca
- Atlante 1-3 Pachuca
- Puebla 2-0 Quaretaro
- Pumas 1-0 Morelia
- Cruz Azul 1-0 Club America
- Chivas de Guadalajara 2-2 Atlas
Player of the Week
Santos central defender Felipe Baloy put in an absolutely dominant performance this week as he shut off the Toluca attack, specifically Hector Mancilla. Since moving to Santos from Monterrey, Baloy has been a key player despite some fitness issues during the Bicentenario. Baloy is one of the biggest and strongest defenders in Mexico and he used those attributes to his advantage in his team’s shutout victory.
Flop of the Week
After an incredible hot streak, Jaguares striker Carlos Ochoa put in a poor performance against Tecos this Friday. His teammates Jackson Martinez, Jorge Rodriguez and Danilinho provided him with multiple opportunities, but Ochoa uncharacteristically made a mess of all of them. The critical finishing striker has already notched six goals this year, so this performance was incredibly out of character. Jaguares will need him to bounce back quickly if they want to reach their aspirations – they’re one of the fringe contenders for the Liguilla.
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