Liga MX: VLMX Power Rankings – After Round 7
By vivaligamx
Last week was a double match week in Liga MX, allowing the Viva Liga MX team to get a better idea of how they rank each squad.
We’re still getting our bearings about us, clearly. We had multiple teams shift by 4 or more spots one way or the other. This is not entirely our fault, to be fair, though. Liga MX is notoriously difficult to gauge, especially this early in the competition.
With more of a sample size, we’re starting to feel more confident in where we rank these teams.
The average rankings had a clear top 4, followed by a variety of opinions for everyone else. Opinions differ wildly in some cases, as you may gather from the brief explanations given.
1. Cruz Azul (+0)
Luis Ramos (LR): Cruz Azul is the only unbeaten team and show no signs of slowing down. True number one team.
Tom Buckley (TB): Outplayed by Santos but managed to escape with a tie and still unbeaten.
2. Santos Laguna (+2)
Garett Kerber (GK): Without leading goal-scorer, Julio Furch, they managed to draw with table-leading Cruz Azul. Despite all the losses to their club, they are looking very impressive. The best may be yet to come, too!
Tom Freeman-Eves (TFE): The champions have finally found form; perhaps the coaching meltdown needed to happen!
3. Monterrey (+0)
TFE: Frustrating team that somehow don’t seem to convince despite being in 2nd.
TB: Embarrassment of riches yet not playing up to potential
4. Club America (-2)
TB: In case nobody has learned this lesson yet: NEVER count América out
GK: America will be fine, despite a run of less-than-desirable performances. There too much talent in the squad to stay down for long.
5. Morelia Monarcas (+2)
LR: Monarcas have only lost one game that came in the season opener to Toluca. Since then, they’ve managed to stay hot and play smart futbol. If they keep it up, they will be in the championship conversation.
GK: Unbeaten since Jornada 1. Time to start taking this Monarcas team seriously
6. Leon (+5)
TFE: León are finally finding an answer to life without Elias, I’m still not overly convinced that they can keep up this run though.
LR: Leon beat America and Toluca. Let’s not jump on the wagon yet. Their matchup vs Pumas could say a little more of where their season can be heading.
7. Toluca ( -1)
GK: Hit a bit of a speed bump on their return to the top of the table against an en fuego Leon side.
TB: Flashes of danger, but battling the injury bug now
8. Tigres (+0)
TFE: With the emergence of León and Chivas in recent weeks, Tigres really need to pick up the performances to feel comfortable with a top 8 finish.
GK: A 4-0 drubbing of Veracruz had us wondering if Tigres was starting to turn it on. The 1-1 draw with Necaxa muddies the waters again.
9. Pumas (-4)
TB: Tie vs 9-man América could worsen current 0-2-2 spiral.
LR: Pumas haven’t been able to bounce back since their loss to Monterrey. They couldn’t even beat a 9-man America.
10. Chivas (+3)
GK: Color me skeptical of Chivas’ “turnaround”. Certainly, they have made vast improvements in their table position with 3 straight wins. Beating Veracruz, Necaxa (in their current form), and Atlas by a combined 4-0 isn’t exactly blowing me away, however.
TFE: Very impressive three back to back wins and clean sheets.
11. Queretaro (+1)
GK: Steady play, sans goals, gets them into the Liguilla contention conversation, but won’t get them anywhere further than that. They may be just fine with that, however.
LR: Queretaro is getting the job done and is not afraid to bring the heat against the top big clubs.
12. Pachuca (+4)
LR: Pachuca looks like they might’ve finally turned it around and have gained some positive momentum.
TB: Could we be seeing the start of a Tuzos resurgence?
GK: Since acquiring former English Premier League man, Leo Ulloa, Pachuca hasn’t needed him. Victor Guzman is helping make Pachuca forget a horrid start.
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
13. Necaxa (-4)
TB: Bitten by bad luck (and poor refereeing), Rayos can’t overcome thin roster.
GK: Tailing off significantly after what looked like an extremely promising start to the season
14. Puebla (+0)
TFE: A good, if not somewhat surprising result, against Toluca is the only real highlight of the season so far. A win vs Atlas really doesn’t count at this point.
LR: Puebla is still not doing anything great but losing games, the win against Atlas still doesn’t say much.
15. Club Tijuana (-5)
TFE: Tactical ineptitude has finally caught up with Xolos.
TB: Could Coach Diego Cocca be the first coach sacked this season?
16. Veracruz (+2)
GK: Bad team, fortunate to have a couple equally bad teams to keep them off rock bottom in the table.
LR: A little life in Veracruz but not much separates them from easily being in the bottom of the table.
TFE: A shambles on and off the pitch
17. Lobos (-2)
TB: Simply don’t have the roster to challenge. Could be relegated for second straight season.
TFE: Lobos are unlucky to be where they are in the table. They’ve played some good football but unable to capitalize on chances
18. Atlas (-1)
GK: Score a goal in Liga MX play and we’ll talk.
LR: Atlas can’t score and with no scoring comes no winning. When it looks like it might go their way, something always happens that turns it around.
With Copa MX restarting, and more important Liga MX games this weekend, we’ll likely see more shake-ups in the rankings next week. Teams are still figuring themselves out. It’s only right we are figuring them out, as well.