Mexican Primera, 2011 Apertura Liguilla: Chivas And Cruz Azul Upset, Santos And UANL Tigres Win Expectedly

After just 11 minutes of the second leg, the tie was over. UANL Tigres defeated Pachuca 1-0 in the first leg of their Ligullla semifinal tie, giving the Tuzos little chance of progressing to the next round. In the 11th minute of Sunday’s match, Manuel Viniegra headed in a cross from Lucas Lobos, putting the team with Mexico’s best defense up 2-0 on aggregate. With 80 minutes remaining, Tigres were through. They decided to score twice more for good measure, capturing a 4-0 aggregate win.

Lobos and Damian Alvarez scored the other two goals, both in the first half. It was a game that almost didn’t have to be played. Tigres very much look like favorites to take the Liguilla title now, and hopefully for the neutrals, Monarcas Morelia and Queretaro aren’t able to pull off further upsets in the semifinals.

Once again, Cruz Azul have put in a disappointing performance in the playoffs. For the second tournament in a row, Monarcas Morelia are the team who have knocked them out. After Morelia won by one goal at home in the first leg, this tie was thought to be a toss-up headed to Estadio Azul. La Machina were caught napping in the opening minutes of the second leg, and Morelia ended the tie before the second leg really got started, eventually winning by an aggregate score of 4-2.

Alejandro Vela restored some hope for Cruz Azul fans with a goal in the 35th minute as he finished off a Javier Aquino cross, but La Machina wasn’t able to create chances in the second half. Morelia deserved to win over 180 minutes of play as Cruz Azul shot themselves in the foot over and over again.