Liga MX, Week 1: Club America Hold Monterrey

Monterrey don’t regularly drop points at Estadio Technologico and they almost never lose, so Club America should be happy with their season-opening performance up north. They put together an impressive defensive display on Saturday night to grab a 0-0 draw against one of their main competitors for the Liga MX title.

Monterrey had most of the possession and a few half-chances, but most of their best efforts were blocked by defenders before they ever got to young Hugo Gonzalez, who looked composed in net. The Rayados’ best chance came in the 39th minute, when Suazo hit the crossbar with a fantastic strike. For the most part, they struggled to break down the America defense. Hopefully for Victor Manuel Vucetich, this was a one-match hiccup, as opposed to a look ahead into what life will be like in Monterrey without departed midfielder Luis Ernesto Perez.

The Tijuana Xolos hope to be a Liguilla contender, well clear of the relegation zone over the next two tournaments, and they looked the part in their 2-0 victory over Puebla on Friday. Puebla have fixed their tax issues and are more stable than they were a year ago, but still played like a relegation contender in their Liga MX opener.

Xolos dominated play from the start and were unlucky not to get a penalty in the 6th minute, when captain Javier Gandolfi was taken down on the edge of the penalty area, but the referee waived play on. The next time they committed a foul in a dangerous spot, they weren’t as lucky. In the 9th minute, Jorge Gastelum took down Leandro Augusto on the edge of the penalty area, and Fernando Arce scored on the ensuing free kick to give Tijuana the lead. Alexandro Alvarez was in position to make a save, but couldn’t keep the ball out of the net even though it hit him right in the hands.

The Jaguares Chiapas defense wasn’t expected to be fantastic this season, but they were truly embarrassed at home in their Liga MX opener on Friday night. With Edgar Andrade and Jackson Martinez in the lineup, Jaguares were regularly able to outscore opponents last season, but with Martinez gone and Andrade unavailable, the hosts had nothing going forward and they were demolished 4-0 by UANL Tigres.

With no Andrade or Martinez, Tigres didn’t look like they believed Jaguares had the ability to cut open a deep defense, and they were absolutely right. Tigres’ chances didn’t come from great passing moves, but from set pieces, counter-attacks and long-range strikes. They didn’t have to commit numbers forward to dominate the game.

The Mexican Primera Division is no more. Mexico’s top flight will still be referred to either by that name or by its nickname, ‘FMF’ by most people, but the powers that be have changed the league’s name to Liga MX. The new league is the second of the world’s major Fall-Spring leagues to kick off its season, following the Russian Premier League’s kickoff earlier on Friday.

Those who make the fixtures usually aren’t too kind to the public for Week 1, but they’ve lined up some very entertaining matches to kick off Liga MX this year.