Mexican Primera, 2011 Clausura, Liguilla: Morelia Defeat America; Semifinal Field Set

After falling behind 3-0 in the first leg of their Liguilla tie against Monterrey, Pumas UNAM have come back to lock up the tie at 3-3 on aggregate, sending them through to the semifinals on the seeding tiebreaker. As the No. 2 seed in the tournament, Pumas advance by virtue of having the higher seed than Monterrey, who were seeded No. 7. They pulled back one goal in the road leg of the tie in Monterrey, losing 3-1, then put together a 2-0 victory this afternoon in Mexico City to go through to the next round.

Efran Velarde opened the scoring in the 5th minute with a great diving header, and the winner came from Luis Fuentes in the 74th minute, who put in a fantastic header of his own. Monterrey keeper Jonathan Orozco was great on the day, but the negative strategy of the Rayados eventually came back to bite them.

It wasn’t pretty, but Cruz Azul got the result they needed to advance to the semifinals of Liguilla, securing a 0-0 draw in Cancun to advance 2-1 on aggregate over Atlante. Both of the lower seeded teams won their Liguilla ties on Saturday, with Cruz Azul being the fifth seed and Chivas being the eighth seed, and they will learn their fate tomorrow, as the semifinal playoff round is reseeded in the Mexican Primera.

Cruz Azul’s first priority throughout the match was to keep a clean sheet, though it would be unfair to classify the football they played as negative. Still, as a result of their defensive emphasis and Atlante’s desperation to score, the hosts created a great deal more shots than the Blue Machine. Jose Corona was brilliant in goal for Cruz Azul, and his play was the main reason that his team were able to keep a clean sheet, as the defense had a couple of hiccups in the game.

It’s been a decent first half for the Potros, but to this point, Atlante haven’t done enough to pull back their deficit on Cruz Azul, and they still trail 2-1 on aggregate after a 0-0 first half in the second leg of their Liguilla tie. It’s been a tough and physical match with four bookings and a solid number of fouls, and Cruz Azul probably won’t mind keeping it that way as long as they have the lead.

Atlante have had the better chances thus far, hitting the crossbar with a header in the 8th minute and having a weak shot that should have been hit better cleared off the line not much later. Jesus Corona has been solid in net for Cruz Azul, and his team will need him to continue his solid form.

All was going to plan for UANL Tigres at home. They needed two goals against Chivas Guadalajara to advance after a 3-1 road loss, but at the Estadio Universitario that shouldn’t have posed too much of a problem. The first half saw the hosts dominating with a ludicrous edge in possession and shots, but despite all off the pressure just couldn’t find the net. The closest that they managed to come in that first period was when Juninho smashed a 25 yard free kick into the bottom of the crossbar on the 45-minute mark.

At 1-0 Tigres, the match was delicately poised, with a goal from either side enough to kill off the tie. It was Chivas who got it, though, winning a penalty through Marco de la Mor, who promptly saw his shot saved by Cirilo Saucado. He got to the rebound first though, firing it against the post before the ball smacked off Hector Reynosoand rolled into the back of the net. Tigres needed two goals in twelve minutes, and not even six minutes of stoppage time would see them come close. It’s the number eight seed that will advance to the next round.

Well that’s UANL Tigres almost certainly out of this year’s edition of the Liguilla. Midfielder Jesus Molina is a little unfortunate to be called for a foul after bringing down Chivas Guadalajara’s Marco Fabian de la Mora in the area and referee Morales Orvalle pointed to the spot immediately (It’s worth pointing out that he had booked Tigres’ Danilinho for diving in the area - a debatable call - less than five minutes prior).

With the massed fans at the Estadio Universitario watching with trepidation, de la Mora stepped up to the penalty spot. He shot to Cirilo Saucado’s right, and the keeper guessed correctly, diving quickly to parry the ball to one side. However, he couldn’t reach the rebound fast enough, and de la Mora pounced again only to be denied by the post. It was cruel torment for the Tigres fans, however. The ball ricocheted off the upright and bounced right into Chivas defender Hector Reynoso, off whom it deflected into an empty net. At 1-1 and just a few minutes to go, the game and tie is surely lost.

Well now this is getting very interesting. Ten-man Tigres, who’ve been threatening all evening but unable to find the finishing touch, have finally gotten a ball past Luis Michel in the Chivas Guadalajara goal. It comes at the end of a flowing move forward, the ball pinged left for Damien Alvarez to swing in a cross which Hector Raul Mancilla nodded into the bottom left corner, leaving Michel with absolutely no chance. That was a much better finish than his previous attempt.

Anyway, pandemonium ensues in the Estadio Universitario as they celebrate that vital goal. It’s now 1-0 Tigres. They need another to advance, and although they aren’t as dominant as they were in the first half with only ten men, they’re still pretty comfortably better than Chivas. They have 25 minutes left to find another - can they make that time count? We’ll just have to wait and see.

To absolutely nobody’s surprise, UANL Tigres are doing all of the attacking at the Estadio Universitario. IN the first half they’ve comfortably outshot Chivas Guadalajara, who haven’t really spent any time putting pressure on their hosts. The visitors are more than happy to defend, sitting on a 3-1 aggregate lead and inviting Tigres to attack. Although the home side are weaving plenty of pretty patterns around the box, they’re not really doing very well at getting into said box to challenge Luis Michel.

Perhaps their best chance from open play came very early, with Lucas Lobos slibbing in Damian Alvarez on the left. His low shot beat Michel, but also just skidded wide of the far post. Next up it was Hector Raul Mancilla’s turn to waste a chance, heading straight at the goalkeeper after being left unmarked on the penalty spot. With the hosts needing two goals to advance, the stadium was getting very nervous, and the tension was almost palpable then Juninho stood over a 25 yard kick at the stroke of halftime. Unfortunately for UANL, his driven effort could only find the underside of the crossbar rather than the goal, so we’re at 0-0 (1-3) at the interval. Tigres have been playing well, but they’ll need to step it up a notch or two to get through here.

Number one seed UANL Tigres are still reeling from a shock 3-1 loss at Chivas Guadalajara in the first leg of their playoff matchup, but they’ll need to regain their composure quickly if they want to advance. Being two goals behind on aggregate at home isn’t the end of the world for the top side in the FMF, but they’ll have to get this first goal quickly and keep Chivas off the board at all costs. A 2-0 win will be enough for Tigres to go through based on seeding, but that would be cutting it very close indeed.

Fortunately for Cruz Azul, a tight game is unlikely, says Nick Rosano of SB Nation’s Mexican Futbol blog FMF State of Mind. Defending isn’t really in either team’s blood (it’s especially not in Atlante’s), so we can expect to see an open, expansive match:

So, will there be goals? Of course there will be. It’s Mexican football, and while the FMF may have many deficiencies, it’s never short on entertainment.