Winners and Losers from Liga MX Week 13
Week 13 of the 2014 Apertura is over with America leading the tournament with 29 points, but not everything is good news in the Liga MX.
Guadalajara lost their sixth game of the season and are getting closer to relegation. Things aren't going to be easy for Chivas, especially since Universidad de Guadalajara, Puebla and Veracruz are ahead of them in the general table and have been adding points to their count on a regular basis.
Cruz Azul and UNAM couldn't keep the pace, and they now need to have flawless performances if they want to reach the Liguilla.
Atlas and Monterrey lost their chances to secure the tournament's top spot, as they both lost their matches. Still, they are inside the qualification zone.
Let's take a look at the winners and losers from Matchday 13.
Winners: America
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America are officially qualified to the Liguilla after defeating Monterrey, their closest competitor, until Week 13 started.
Las Aguilas took advantage of playing on home soil, and they recovered from last week’s painful 0-4 loss to Cruz Azul.
Antonio Mohamed’s side proved its power in the last third of the pitch in the second half of the game, when Pablo Aguilar and Oribe Peralta scored.
Squawka reported that America completed 83 percent of the passes they sent, including an assist from Rubens Sambueza.
Peralta put an end to his scoreless drought, which had been running since Matchday 5 when he put the ball away in the 92nd minute against Morelia.
So far, Las Aguilas are the only team that has officially made the playoffs.
Losers: Morelia
2 of 7
Morelia are still at the bottom of the general table. They lost for the eighth time in the 2014 Apertura, their fifth on home soil.
The team showed improvement during Week 8, when Jose Cruz took over the squad, and ultimately secured their first victory two weeks later.
However, Monarcas don't look like a team. There's no blending between the lines, although they had 74 percent of average pass completion, they only created seven goal opportunities, as per Squawka.
Mentality-wise, Monarcas are also struggling. This week's best example was the penalty kick missed by David Depetris in the first half, which would have been the equalizer.
Veracruz secured three key points, as they are fighting to avoid relegation.
Winners: Mauro Boselli (Leon) and Ariel Nahuelpan (Pachuca)
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Mauro Boselli helped Leon secure their fifth victory of the 2014 Apertura, as he scored his eighth goal of the tournament, which puts him one goal shy from Dorlan Pabon, the current top scorer.
Boselli shot five times, one of them hit the crossbar. He also completed 70 percent of the passes he sent and won 80 percent of the aerial duels in which he was involved, according to Squawka.
Pachuca's Ariel Nahuelpan also put the ball away during the weekend and joined Boselli as the second-best scorer of the season.
Nahuelpan also created one goal opportunity in Los Tuzos' draw with UNAM.
Losers: Cruz Azul
4 of 7
Just when it seemed Cruz Azul had left behind their inconsistencies, La Maquina lost 1-0 to UANL at Estadio Universitario.
Squawka reports that Luis Fernando Tena's side pass completion was 77 percent, compared to Tigres' 88 percent.
Cruz Azul made 11 shots, but seven of those were off target. They also tried to put the ball in the penalty area through crosses, however they only completed three of the 21 they sent.
This defeat put them outside the qualification zone, as they fell two spots in the general table (from eighth to 10th).
Winners: Toluca
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Toluca became the first squad that has defeated Atlas on home soil during the 2014 Apertura.
Diablos Rojos took advantage of their rivals' defensive mistakes, helping themselves into creating the perfect scenario to surprise Los Zorros from the flanks.
Toluca created a total of seven goal opportunities, four of those from the sidelines, as reported by Squawka.
It was from that area that Isaac Brizuela crafted the play that led to Toluca's first goal (Antonio Rios).
Brizuela himself stunned Federico Vilar, after a rookie mistake by the goalkeeper during stoppage time.
"Que manera de cerrar un sábado futbolero. Isaac Brizuela con un toque espectacular ante una portería vacía. #CRACK https://t.co/7jK0AdpG5G
— Fut al Momento (@FutMomento) October 19, 2014"
Losers: UNAM
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UNAM is just one of two teams that have yet to win on home soil (the other one being Morelia).
The last time they secured a victory at Estadio Olimpico was in the past tournament (2014 Clausura), when they defeated Guadalajara 1-0 in Matchday 16.
This weekend they were overpowered by Pachuca. The away team completed 89 percent of their passes, while UNAM's accuracy rate equaled 75 percent.
In the attacking zone Pumas weren't sharp. They created six goal opportunities and only completed two crosses from the 19 they attempted, according to Squawka.
This result sent them to the 11th place of the general table.
Losers: Guadalajara
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Jose Manuel de la Torre took over Guadalajara this weekend, hoping to turn around the team's current situation.
However, Chivas lost 1-2 to Leon, and they get closer to leaving the Liga MX. As of now, they sit penultimate in the relegation table, just ahead of Universidad de Guadalajara.
There's a lot of work to do in the attacking zone. According to Squawka, Chivas only had three goal opportunities and three crosses completed, from a total of 15 tries.
The back line is also going through a bad moment. Carlos Pena took advantage of his speed and fine touch to unbalance Guadalajara's defenders.
De la Torre went with a 3-4-3 formation, which put a lot of pressure on Carlos Salcido, who couldn't do much for Leon's first goal.
All stats appear courtesy of ESPN FC, unless otherwise noted.
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