In a lopsided finals rematch, rampant Tigres easily defeat Chivas.
Without their top scorer, the Flying Frenchman, the reigning
champions headed to Guadalajara for a repeat in the Finals. Having witnessed
Tigres celebrate their eighth Liga MX triumph on their home field, the Chivas
were hoping for some retribution.
Regretfully for
Guadalajara, Nicolás Ibáñez, the former Liga MX scoring champion, is Gignac's
backup. Nico not only scored a brace in the first half but also provided an
assist for his team's fourth goal.
Guadalajara
appeared defenseless against Tigres to the booing, chanting, and cursing of
Chivas fans, and Saturday's 4-0 loss may have a worse outcome than the
heartbreaking overtime loss precisely five months prior.
Maulings by tigers
Ibáñez made two
excellent saves from Luis Quiñones, the first coming as they combined to make
Chivas make a mistake in the back. In the 53rd minute, Nico scored his second
goal and ended his career with an impeccable assist on Marcelo Flores' first
Liga MX goal.Although the Chivas are in sixth place despite the 4-0 loss, which
is their second such negative scoreline this season, their recent performance
(along with the unrest in the locker room) does not give them hope for a
lengthy postseason run.
The Chivas (21
points) need to find a way to turn things around in order to maintain their Top
6 ranking and the ensuing first-round playoff bye. They have three games left.
With the victory,
the Northerners (28 points) guaranteed themselves a spot in the postseason and,
should Sunday's results go their way, a Top 6 seed.
Leading leagues
destroy Rayados
The Rayados'
three-game winning streak that had propelled them into third place was
decisively ended as a furious América trampled over Monterrey.
After Rayados
midfielder Maxi Meza was sent off for an inadvertent stamp on América defender
Sebastián Cáceres, Jonathan "Cabecita" Rodríguez scored twice in the
opening twenty-one minutes of play. The second goal came just three minutes
later.
With 13 straight
games without a loss, Andre Jardine's team can only finish as high as fourth
place. This game was gone early, and the Aguilas (33 points) secured a
first-round playoff bye.
In place of the
injured Diego Valdés, Álvaro Fidalgo assumed the position of the playmaker.
After providing Henry Martín with a superbly timed through pass just 60 seconds
into the game, the Spaniard opened up the Monterrey defense. Twenty minutes
later, he contributed a beautiful assist on Cabecita's second goal.Martín
provided the assists for América's first and third goals, both of which were
skillful feeds.
The short-handed
Rayados had fits from the Aguilas offense, which posed a persistent threat.With
one game remaining, Monterrey (23 points) will be hopeful that key players,
especially Sergio Canales, who is currently out with an injury, can recover in
time for the postseason. Monterrey holds a tight hold on third place.