Mexican Primera, Apertura Round 16 Review: Cruz Azul Clinches First, America Clinches Copa Libertadores

The playoff picture in the Mexican Primera is looking a little clearer after Round 16, but there will be plenty to play for in the final round of the regular season. All of the separate races within the league have been tight, but one race that surprisingly ended a week early is the race for the number one seed in Liguilla.

Despite only managing a draw with Chivas de Guadalajara, Cruz Azul clinched the top seed in Liguilla. Their match was a frustrating one to watch on all fronts. Frustrating for Chivas fans because they couldn’t put the ball in the net, despite plenty of great opportunities, frustrating for Cruz Azul fans because they were getting outplayed by a bottom half team who has scored only 13 goals, and frustrating for neutrals because of the lack of goals. Chivas kept themselves alive for Liguilla, if only just by the slightest of threads. They will have to hope that none of the four teams in front of them win next week, and that the top two of those teams both lose.

Cruz Azul clinched first place with a draw because of Monterrey’s inexplicable loss to a poor Puebla team. However, this probably had something to do with Humberto Suazo being unavailable, Walter Ayovi only playing for 30 minutes, and Daniel Carreño not featuring at all off the bench. Monterrey seems content to coast into Liguilla. Their relative apathy has cost them the top seed in the playoffs, but it remains to be seen whether or not there will be a big difference between the teams in seventh and eighth place at the end of the season.

Club America won in not so impressive fashion against Atlante, but their win was enough to clinch a spot in the 2011 Copa Libertadores and take control of Group Two. The lowlight of the game was a penalty miss by Pavel Pardo, but Vicente Vuoso’s winner was a nice goal and America will need him to be in form to have any success in Liguilla. America has qualified for Copa America because the current top three in the league, Cruz Azul, Monterrey, and Santos, are all still alive in CONCACAF Champions League and unable to compete in Copa Libertadores. It will be America’s first appearance in Copa since 2008, when they made a run to the semi-finals and lost to eventual champions LDU Quito.

Elsewhere in the league, Santos and San Luis played to a draw. If neither team moves in the table, they should be meeting again in the first round of the Liguilla. Morelia, Pumas, and Pachuca kept their Liguilla hopes alive with wins. Toluca and Tigres both put themselves in some hot water with losses, while Jaguares helped solidify their Liguilla standing with a hard fought win against an Atlas team they should have put away more easily.

Of the remaining Liguilla hopefuls, only Chivas and Pumas will not be favored to win, as they play away to Monterrey and America, respectably. Jaguares have a tricky matchup, although they will be slight favorites, as they go away to Quaretaro. The other three teams in the race are heavy favorites, as Pachuca goes to Necaxa, Tigres go to Atlas, Toluca host Atlante, and Morelia host Puebla. Jaguares are likely in with just a draw, and Tigres are in with a win. This means that the real battle might come down to only one spot, and that could very easily be decided on goal differential.

Pachuca will have the chance to set the tone in the race for the final spots, as they are the first team to play, with Necaxa playing all home games on Friday nights. Three points might not be good enough - they need to tally up the goals.

This week’s round of the Mexican Primera mostly saw teams playing conservatively, afraid to lose ground in their races and avoid elimination for Liguilla contention. The final week of the season should be a completely different story.