Mexican Primera Division, 2011 Apertura, Week 2: America-Toluca Ends 1-1, Chivas Beats Jaguares 2-1

The Club Tijuana Xolos got off to a fantastic start at the Estadio Tecnologico on Saturday night against Monterrey, but the Rayados did more than just get back into the game after falling behind. They showed their class throughout the second half of the match, running over the Xolos and showing them how difficult it is to get a result on the road in the Mexican Primera. The newcomers’ took an impressive 2-0 lead, but it eventually evaporated, with Monterrey taking a deserved 4-2 victory on the evening.

Dayro Moreno and Joey Corona, arguably Tijuana’s two best attacking players were the two who struck for them in the first half, with Moreno scoring a brilliant goal to get the Xolos on the board and Corona scoring a tap-in to double their lead. A bad defensive error would gift the Rayados a goal just before the halftime whistle, though, with Sergio Santana making the score 2-1 at the interval.

The first major upset of the 2011 Apertura is brewing. After 45 minutes of play at Estadio Tecnologico, the newly promoted Club Tijuana Xolos lead heavily favored Monterrey by a score of 2-1, thanks to goals by their stars Dayro Moreno and Joe Corona. They looked like they were going to go into halftime with a 2-0 lead, but a bad defensive error at the end of the half gifted a goal to Sergio Santana.

The Xolos struggled in Week 1 against Monarcas Morelia, but the addition of Moreno into the team seems to have made all the difference.

Despite its moniker as the most unpredictable major professional football league in the world, the Mexican Primera Division delivered no major surprises in Week 1 of the 2011 Apertura. Liguilla favorites Chivas Guadalajara, America and Monterrey all won their games while the likes of Santos Laguna, Morelia and Pumas UNAM notched expected wins as well. Cruz Azul delivered a minor surprise to UANL Tigres by playing a negative style and nicking a 1-1 draw at the Estadio Universitario, but that was a minor surprise at best.

Will this week’s action deliver a little more in terms of shock value? America and Chivas played in the World Football Challenge in mid-week, while both Morelia and Santos had CONCACAF Champions League matches. All four teams played first choice squads in mid-week, so it will be interesting to see if any of them are tired.