The 13th match day of the Liga MX kicked off last night with a surprising turn of events. Many fans of the league were already excited for the relegation battle between the two teams at the bottom of the relegation table, Puebla and Universidad de Guadalajara. Although the two teams make up what some consider the most interesting match of the weekend, Friday night’s results have made for an interesting situation in the league table’s the top 8.
Queretaro vs Tijuana:
Tijuana entered the match as the league leaders. Prior to the match, Tijuana suffered a 3 – 4 defeat to Monterrey, and a 2 – 1 defeat to Cruz Azul. The Tijuana squad was in need of a win if they were to keep their spot as league leaders, especially with Veracruz hot on their heels.
Queretaro knew how desperately Tijuana wanted the win and were looking to help knock the league leaders off of their throne. Queretaro had achieved the opposite results as their opponents, having defeated Leon 5 – 4 last weekend, and defeating Atlas 2 – 0 before that.
Two teams in opposite forms squared off on match day 13, both with something to prove. It did not take long for the action to begin. In the 10th minute, a through ball by Ronaldinho found William Da Silva outside the 18 yard box. Da Silva made his way into the left side of the box and took a left footed shot that went across the box and into the goal at the right side of the goal. Tijuana equalized in the 28th with a series of passes that led to Henry Martin entering the box and placing a low cross for Dayro Moreno to finish at the right side of the 6 yard box. Moreno was in an offside position but the officials seemed to miss Moreno’s position and allowed the equalizer. Finally just before the half, Orbelin Pineda scored a wonderful shot from the right side of the box that went over Cirilo Saucedo and into the left upper 90. There will always be a bit of controversy over whether or not he meant to shoot or cross but at the end of the night, it was a spectacular goal that decided the match and made Queretaro the victor 2 – 1.
Tijuana took their 3rd loss in a row and Queretaro took their 3rd victory. With this loss Tijuana was vulnerable to losing their spot at the top. Watch the match highlights below.
Veracruz vs. Morelia
Veracruz entered match day 13 in 2nd place. With a Tijuana slip up, Veracruz had the perfect opportunity to take the title of super leader. Veracruz suffered a 3 – 1 defeat to Tigres the week before but defeated Club America 4 – 0 prior to that.
Morelia on the other hand, has seen better days. They have been in terrible form and at the bottom of the league table for two seasons in a row. They entered the match after two consecutive losses, the most recent to Santos Laguna in a 1 – 0 defeat and before then they were defeated by 2 – 0 by Pachuca.
These two teams at opposite ends of the table battled it out for a match full of excitement and tension, Veracruz needed the win to stay earn the first place spot and Morelia needed to exit this slump they’ve fallen into. The first half of the match had its moments and even saw Morelia defender, Marco Palacios get sent off for a dangerous tackle, but did not yield any goals. It was not until the 56th minute that things began to look good for Morelia. Christian Valdez sent a long ball in from the right side of the field. The cross was met by Carlos Calvo who was just outside of the left side of the 6 yard box. Calvo placed his headed shot to the far post and Veracruz keeper Meliton Hernandez was unable to react. Just 6 minutes later, Veracruz equalized. Juan Albin took a Veracruz free kick from the left side of the pitch that was met by Leiton Jimenez inside the 6 yard box. Leiton beat the Morelia goal keeper Carlos Rodriguez in the air and headed the ball in.
Veracruz took a point against Morelia and was able to just barely squeeze into the top spot on the league table. view the highlights below.
What does this all mean? Veracruz and Tijuana are tied at the top of the table with 13 games played and 23 points. Both America and Guadalajara have yet to play and are both tied with 21 points in their 12 games. A win by either of these teams this weekend would ensure one of the top 2 spots on the table. The only thing left to do is wait for the rest of the matches to find out who the “Super leader” will be after this weekend.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
