Liga MX: Club Tijuana – Lessons from León and Xolos Femenil

Club Tijuana’s unbeaten record continues at the Estadio Caliente while Xolos Femenil suffer an unexpected 2 – 1 loss away at Lobos BUAP.

Club Tijuana are now halfway through what is arguably their toughest run of the Liga MX Apertura: a stretch of four games over a three-week period which has already seen an away loss at Tigres and a home draw to rivals León. With Cruz Azul visiting the Estadio Caliente next and a visit to last season’s beaten finalists Toluca looming, it is critical that Xolos up their performances and pick up the points.

They currently find themselves sitting 10^th in the table with four points from three games, level on points with 8^th place Toluca but behind on goal difference. This is by no means a disastrous start to the season, but it is one to be concerned about considering the next couple of games. This new-look Cruz Azul hasn’t yet conceded in three games and Toluca haven’t lost at home in the league since falling to América in November 2017.

What we learned from León

Considering the red card, we only really have 39 good minutes to analyse how Xolos set up and look ahead to what we might see again next week when Cruz Azul visit.

Diego Cocca set up in a familiar looking 4-4-2, a formation employed by all teams across Liga MX this weekend. A deep defensive back line was used allowing León time in the centre of the pitch before shifting to a more erratic press designed to smother the ball and suffocate León of possession in the attacking third.

More from Viva Liga MX

• Guillermo Ochoa is out 4-6 weeks
• The Clásico Regiomontano is Heating Up
• Pumas: In Search of Regaining a Top Spot
• Why the United States Is Set to Overtake Mexico on the World Stage
• Erick Gutierrez is out once again

The basic principle was that as soon as an attacking player entered a dangerous zone, multiple Tijuana defenders would press the ball from different angles, putting the attacker under immediate pressure and minimize his passing options. The aim was to force an error and win back possession or to cut off passing avenues and ensure that the ball could only be passed backwards and out of the danger zone.

Once possession was won back, Tijuana immediately transitioned to counterattack and committed numbers forward, high up the pitch. Bolaños was often used as this attacking outlet as he shifted from the left to a number 10 position in the middle of the pitch, Fuentes then pushed high up the pitch to provide the width.

The movement from defence to attack was seamless and so quick that it put León under immense pressure early on. However, the defensive midfield partnering of Chávez and Rodríguez didn’t always cover the space left-behind by Bolaños; something that really worries me when looking ahead to Cruz Azul.

Where Cruz Azul will hurt Tijuana

These same gaps appearing on the left were also showing on the right-hand side as Rivero and Mendoza, whilst seeing less of the ball, also cut inside as often as possible. The whole focus of Tijuana’s attack was in central areas; something that will play right in to the hands of Cruz Azul.

La Maquina’s main weapon this season is wide man Elías Hernández, who has looked dangerous almost every time he’s had the ball this season. Cruz Azul will be looking to rob the ball off the Xolos’ attackers and immediately feed the ball to Hernández in an attacking area.

Considering how quickly the ball can be moved across the Estadio Caliente’s 4G turf, it is easy to imagine countless nail-biting scenarios with Elías one on one with a defender and looking to whip in a dangerous cross.

If Cocca doesn’t address these problem areas and ensure that centre midfielders are closing these gaps ahead of next weekend, Xolos fans are in for a very long night.

A Look at Xolos Femenil

Meanwhile, the women’s team have suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of Lobos BUAP.

Lobos opened the scoring just before half-time through Abigail de Jesús in the 45^th minute after catching Xolos out on a quick counter. Xolos responded well with Inglis Hernández making a fantastic attacking run to break the offside trap and level the scoring straight after the break. Xolos held on until the 75^th minute which saw a golazo from Ana Pérez take the lead and all three points for the home side.

The result leaves Xolos Femenil in 3^rd place with seven points from four games.

Next up they’ll play host to group leaders América where they’ll be hoping for some of the same defensive solidity that the men’s team will be looking to continue against Cruz Azul!