Mexican Primera Division, 2011 Liguilla: Chivas Guadalajara Hold Pumas UNAM To Draw; Cruz Azul Beats Morelia

The Mexican Primera Division Liguilla is down to the semifinals and Cruz Azul and Morelia are ready to battle for a spot in the final. The two-legged round gets underway tonight in Mexico City at Estadio Azul With fifth-seeded Cruz Azul looking to pull their second consecutive tiny upset. In the last round they defeated fourth-seeded Atlante and now they have to get past third-seeded Morelia, who had no problem dispatching Club America in the previous round.

Last round, Morelia won both legs of the tie and they will undoubtedly look to get forward to grab goals in this first leg, but a goal is not their definition of success. A draw will be more than enough for them, while Cruz Azul will be gunning for a two-goal win.

Pumas UNAM were in control for much of the game against Chivas Guadalajara and appeared to be leaving the Estadio Omnilife with a valuable road win, but a late goal by Omar Arellano has kept Chivas alive in the tie, and after a 1-1 draw, both teams have absolutely everything to play for in the second leg on Sunday.

Efrain Velarde scored the opening goal in the 51st minute, as he got forward on a fantastic move by Pumas. The assist was provided by Dante Lopez, who beat his man and got to the byline to put in a great cross into the box, towards the far post. Velarde dived onto the ball, and he headed it into the back of the net, giving Pumas the lead.

I generally like to avoid cursing out referees. We’re all human, and we all make mistakes. Being a referee is a very hard job. Tonight, Delgadillo Haro is not doing his job very well. He’s known as a card-happy official, but he’s absolutely gone over the deep end tonight in the 2011 Liguilla match between Chivas Guadalajara and Pumas UNAM. The match is tied up at 0-0 at halftime, but who knows what the game would be like with a level-headed official.

In the 32nd minute, Chivas goalkeeper Luis Michel was shown a yellow card for...well, nothing. He won the ball cleanly in a tackle and didn’t appear to do anything illegal. Chivas defender Hector Reynoso was unhappy with this, and he proceeded to curse out the linesman. He must have said something truly awful, because after consulting with his linesman, Haro showed Reynoso a straight red card.

Chivas and Pumas are two of the top producers of Mexican talent in the Primera, which only seems to add fuel to the rivalry between the two teams that kick of their first-round Liguilla match on Thursday. Chivas, of course, is known for only having players of Mexican decent on their team, while Pumas has a less strict framework. FMF State of Mind, SB Nation’s Mexican soccer blog, elaborates: