Liga MX: Are the champs back on track?

The defending champions of Liga MX have had a rough start to the new season. What’s behind the slow start and can they pull out of it?

After an amazing run through the Liguilla Clausura 2018, Santos Laguna secured their sixth Liga MX title. The title holders look very different in this Apertura, however. Gone is leading goalscorer Djaniny Tavares and his 20 goals from last season. Juan Pablo Rodriguez retired, Carlos Izquierdoz left for Boca Juniors and Nestor Araujo made his way to Celta Vigo. The loss of Tavares in particular, though, leaves Santos punch-less.

In their first match of the Liga MX season, Santos faced off with Lobos BUAP. In their 2-1 win, Brian Lozano and Jonathan Rodriguez netted goals. Apart from a 10 minute stretch, Lobos held the momentum in the match, scoring first and had more total shots and shots on target. On many accounts, Santos was fortunate, winning on talent and a poor Lobos defense.

Week 2 saw Santos travel to Morelia and have their tails handed to them. Monarcas scored shortly after the half and drawing two penalties that they also converted into goals. Julio Furch made sure Santos Laguna was not held goalless by scoring in stoppage time. Again, the defending champs gave up 17 total shots, including 7 on target, and their opponents held all the momentum throughout the game.

A 2-0 loss to Pachuca in the Copa MX may have been rock bottom for Los Guerreros. Pachuca has just one goal in three Liga MX matches. Copa MX matches are always a bit of an outlier, though, as teams are not necessarily taking it as seriously as other competitions. Even so, the trends of poor play had continued through yet another match.

A turning point?

Los Guerreros returned home to take on Puebla in Week 3. Whether tactical changes or simply the boost from playing in front of the home crowd, Santos looked like a totally different team against a solid Puebla side. Julio Furch in particular stuck out for me, not only in scoring his goal, but in his hold-up play to set things up in the attack. The big Argentine received a 8.1 rating from SofaScore for his performance, I might have rated him higher.

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The biggest difference from the first few matches was that Santos was able to take the game to Puebla, only allowing 4 total shots and taking 19 themselves! They allowed Puebla to have the ball slightly more, but only because Santos forced Los Camoteros to make lateral or backward passes by playing a high line and making them work to get into the high danger areas.

The Green-and-Whites controlled the match with long and direct passes, along with the aforementioned hold-up play from Furch. Their speed forced Puebla’s defense deep, often seeing four to five green jerseys in the box for large stretches of time.

The Next Test Case

Santos’ next Liga MX match is in Guadalajara against Chivas. If this open style is the key to unlocking the talent they have left on their roster after the big losses, they need to be able to do it on the road. Chivas will have a raucous crowd and Santos have looked poor in their two away matches thus far.

While I would still be nervous about saying things are fixed, I do think Santos is figuring it out. Against Chivas, expect a similar lineup to the one that took the field against Puebla. Whether they are simply playing better as a team, had some sort of tactical epiphany, or simply benefitted from being home, we’ll find out a lot more about who they are this Saturday.

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