What the hell is Liga MX Femenil thinking?
Word trickled through the yet-to-start women’s soccer league on Thursday that the player requirements were stricter than anybody realized. Being a citizen of Mexico is not enough to play in Liga MX Femenil, players must have been born in Mexico.
Tigres defeated Chivas 1-0 Sunday in a battle between last season's Clausura and Apertura winners to become Campeon De Campeones, but Chivas goalkeeper Rodolfo Cota didn't make it easy. The 30-year-old, facing a breakaway from star Tigres striker Andre-Pierre Gignac, resorted to gamesmanship. And it worked.
Medio Tiempo 0-0. #CampeonDeCampeones2017
Miguel Herrera's second spell managing Club America is off to a rocky start, as Queretaro defeated Las Aguilas 2-0 in the Supercopa MX, which pits the winners of the Copa MX during the Apertura (Queretaro) and the Clausura (Club America). The game was played in California at the StubHub Center, home of the LA Galaxy.
Emanuel Villa struck first from the spot in the 12th minute.
Everybody who watches Liga MX knows how insane it is, mostly because of how passionate the fans are. Orange County, California got a taste of said insanity when a charity match between Club America and Pumas had to be abandoned at halftime because a fan brawl spilled onto the field. Really.
Things boiled over in this charity legends match between Club America and Pumas pic.twitter.com/ynkghJrgod
Hirving Lozano, who’s currently on international duty with Mexico at the FIFA Confederations Cup, has agreed to a contract with PSV Eindhoven through the 2022-23 season. After recently visiting Eindhoven in the Netherlands, PSV confirmed via their official Twitter account that Lozano had agreed to terms with the club.
I love soccer. I can’t get enough of it. So this is always a bittersweet time of year. Domestic leagues are coming to an end. Cup competitions are finishing up. In fact, many of Europe’s top leagues had been settled for the past few weeks and lacked final-day drama. So in order to get my fix of intense, competitive league football, I turned my attention to Mexico and the Liga MX Liguilla playoffs.
And I fell in love.
It had been over 10 years since Chivas last captured a Liga MX title, but the final 20 minutes of the 2017 Liga MX Clausura Final must’ve seemed an even longer period for supporters in Guadalajara.
Much like the first leg, Chivas built a 2-0 lead behind goals from Alan Pulido and Jose Vazquez only to surrender a late goal to Ismael Sosa in the 87th. With the likes of Andre-Pierre Gignac, Jurgen Damm, Javier Aquino and Jesus Duenas desperately searching for a Tigres equalizer, long-suffering fans of Mexico’s most popular team were made to sweat over the match’s final minutes.
Chivas were on the verge of taking a 2-0 lead back to Estadio Chivas for the second leg of the 2017 Liga MX Clausura Final, but Andre-Pierre Gignac scored two remarkable goals, in the 85th and 88th minutes, to level the tie for Tigres.
For Chivas, the first 45 minutes in Estadio Universitario really couldn’t have gone any better. For Tigres and goalkeeper Nahuel Guzman, it was a disaster.
The opening 20 minutes were no indicator of what was later to come as Tigres saw Gignac, Jesus Duenas, Lucas Zelarayan and Ismael Sosa all fire shots at Rodolfo Cota in the Chivas goal.
After years of internal turmoil and flirtation with relegation to Ascenso MX, Guadalajara are on the verge of regaining their status as one of the top clubs in Mexico with a two-legged Liga MX final against Tigres this week. This will be the first league final for Chivas in just over 10 years.
Tigres, the 2016 Liga MX Apertura champions, are now on the verge of the 2017 Clausura Final after defeating top-seeded Tijuana 2-0 in the first leg of their Liguilla semifinal. Lucas Zelarayan opened the scoring with a sumptuous goal in the 42nd minute, and a visibly shaken Tijuana side gave up a second only three minutes later to Javier Aquino.