Liga MX Table 2014: Updated Apertura Results and Standings Following Week 8
The midpoint of the 2014 Liga MX Apertura campaign nears, but you won't begin to see any club outside the top eight begin to panic just yet.
The beauty of the Apertura/Clausura structure means that each match has an added importance, but almost no club is completely out of it until the final weeks. Even Morelia, who are last in the table with two points, could hit a run of form and all of a sudden threaten for a Liguilla place.
As things stand, only four points separate eight-place Queretaro from 15th-place Tijuana. A club can go from the outhouse to the penthouse in a matter of weeks and vice versa.
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
You can bet that the table will look a lot different by the time Monday rolls around.
Below you can see the results from Week 8 and how they impact the league table.
| Sept. 12 | Queretaro | 1-1 | Puebla |
| Sept. 12 | Veracruz | 1-1 | Atlas |
| Sept. 12 | Santos | 2-0 | Leon |
| Sept. 13 | Cruz Azul | 1-2 | Toluca |
| Sept. 13 | Monterrey | Susp. | Guadalajara |
| Sept. 13 | Pachuca | 1-1 | Tijuana |
| Sept. 13 | UDG | 0-0 | America |
| Sept. 13 | Chiapas | 1-1 | Morelia |
| Sept. 14 | Pumas | 2-2 | Tigres |
| 1 | America | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 17 |
| 2 | Monterrey | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 16 |
| 3 | Santos | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 15 |
| 4 | Atlas | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 15 |
| 5 | Toluca | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 14 |
| 6 | Pachuca | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 13 |
| 7 | Chiapas | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 12 |
| 8 | Queretaro | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 11 |
| 9 | Tigres | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 10 | Guadalajara | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| 11 | Cruz Azul | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | -2 | 9 |
| 12 | Puebla | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | -4 | 9 |
| 13 | Tijuana | 8 | 1 | 5 | 2 | -1 | 8 |
| 14 | Pumas | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -1 | 8 |
| 15 | Veracruz | 8 | 1 | 5 | 2 | -1 | 8 |
| 16 | Leon | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | -3 | 6 |
| 17 | UDG | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -6 | 6 |
| 18 | Morelia | 8 | 0 | 3 | 5 | -12 | 3 |
Recap
Queretaro missed a great chance to strengthen its Liguilla position at home to Puebla on Friday night. Instead, the Gallos Blancos settled for a 1-1 draw, which keeps them in eighth place on goal differential. They're locked on 11 points with Toluca and Chiapas.
Camilo Sanvezzo looked to have handed Queretaro a 1-0 win in the 89th minute, but the home side capitulated in injury time, with Cuauhtemoc Blanco leveling from the penalty spot in the 97th minute.
Losing two points that late could come back to haunt Queretaro.
The home supporters did get to see the unveiling of the club's newest signing, Ronaldinho. Mexican football journalist Tom Marshall tweeted out that the Estadio Corregidora was buzzing following his appearance:
It's not every day that a foreign star like Ronaldinho arrives in Liga MX, and Brazilian-born Tigres manager Ricardo Ferretti thinks his compatriot may herald in a new era for the league.
"The arrival of Ronaldinho could mean certain players won’t under-appreciate our league, which happens a lot," Ferretti said at a press conference, via Marshall on Goal. "What we want is for our league to get better and with his arrival it could cause a rise (in quality). Ronaldinho coming will change a lot of opinions about certain elements of our football."
Queretaro supporters have to wait at least another week to see the 2005 Ballon d'Or winner in action, but he should be well worth the wait. His presence could transform the club into a genuine title contender.
In Friday's second match, Veracruz drew 1-1 with Atlas. Carlos Ochoa got the hosts out to a great start with a goal in the 20th minute, but Luis Caballero answered back 27 minutes later.
Both goalkeepers were tested quite a bit. Edgar Hernandez made five saves for Veracruz, with Federico Vilar right behind him with three, according to FoxSoccer.com.
A draw doesn't really help either team.
A win for Atlas would've seen them go top of the table, but they have to settle for fourth for now. They're level on points with Santos. Veracruz remain on the outside looking in on the Liguilla race. They're three points off Queretaro for eighth.
The big winners on the night were Santos, who picked up a big 2-0 home win over Leon, jumping to third in the table.
Leon couldn't have envisioned a worse start to the match. Mauro Cejas opened the scoring for Santos in the 10th minute. Then Fernando Navarro was sent off in the 28th minute for collecting his second yellow card in three minutes:
Jose Maria Cardenas was sent off in the 76th minute to compound Leon's frustrations. Alonso Escoboza added an insurance goal late to seal the victory.
The only other match that didn't end a draw this weekend was Cruz Azul-Toluca. The visitors walked away with a 2-1 victory. Miguel Ponce and Paulo da Silva got on the score sheet for Toluca, with Pablo Barrera helping the hosts to save some face with a consolation goal in the 72nd minute.
Alfredo Talavera was huge for Toluca, making five saves in the match. According to FoxSoccer.com, Cruz Azul had one more shot on target (6 to 5), but Talavera was there to deny El Azul at nearly every opportunity.
The three points gives Toluca a nice cushion in the Liguilla race. They sit in fifth place with 14 points, three ahead of Queretaro.
The most improbable result of the weekend belonged to Pumas and Tigres. Pumas looked to be firmly in control after grabbing a 2-0 lead courtesy of goals from Dante Lopez and Ismael Sosa.
Then Jesus Duenas halved the deficit with a goal in the 72nd minute. Two minutes from injury time, Juninho found an equalizer, salvaging a point for Tigres and taking two away from Pumas. The draw is big because Tigres remain only one point back of Queretaro, which is where Pumas would've been with a win. Instead, they're three points off the eighth spot.
