Santos Laguna defeated Toluca 2-1 in the first leg of the 2018 Liga MX Clausura Final thanks to strikes from Djaniny and Julio Furch, but Luis Quinones’ lone goal for Toluca makes for an incendiary second leg back at “La Bombonera” on Sunday.
To the Eurocentric soccer fan, the competition format for Liga MX is alien, weird and perhaps even unnatural. The Mexican soccer league has two tournaments (the Apertura and Clausura) per season, each with its own playoffs (la liguilla). Two champions are crowned each season. It’s all a bit confusing to outsiders — and even some Liga MX fans.
Why does Liga MX use the Apertura and Clausura split-season format? Forgive us if this sounds a bit cynical, but as with most things in sports, it’s mostly about money.
It’s go time. The 2018 Clausura championship begins Thursday, May 17, with Santos Laguna hosting Toluca at Estadio Corona in Torreon. That match is slated to begin at 9 p.m. ET on Univision. The return leg in Toluca kicks off at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 20. In the end, we’ll see if Toluca can capture its 11th title — and first since 2010 — or if Santos can draw level with Pachuca and Tigres on six.
Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez has had an interesting career so far and it could indeed come full circle this summer if a mooted move back to Mexico is completed by Chivas Guadalajara this offseason.
But how exactly did we get here? Wasn’t it only a few years ago Chicharito was terrorizing defenses with Wayne Rooney, scoring important goals and winning Premier League titles? He even scored some important goals during a loan stint shortly after for Real Madrid, netting the decider in a Champions League quarterfinal versus Atletico Madrid.
Yes, it turns out, a Clásico Capitalino in the quarterfinals of the Clausura playoffs is quite lit. A 38-minute brace from Mateus Uribe and controversial penalty converted by Jeremy Menez put Club America up three at Estadio Olimpico Universitario, but a Pumas penalty, converted by Nicolas Castillo, has given life to the underdogs at halftime.
La primera temporada de Landon Donovan en la Liga MX terminó el sábado con el Club León derrotando al Guadalajara 2-0 en un partido entre dos clubes ya eliminados de la contienda de playoffs. Donovan jugó los últimos 15 minutos del partido, lo que le dio un total de solo 112 minutos de la Liga MX en solo seis apariciones en la temporada Clausura.