Liga MX: Will Monterrey spoil the Mexico City playoff party?

And then there were four … and three of them call Mexico City home.

That means the odds are good that one of the capital clubs can slow the trend of provincial teams winning championships. It has been eight seasons since a Mexico City team has hoisted the Liga MX trophy (América – Apertura 2014).

Of course, if No. 5 seed Monterrey makes a miracle run to the title, northern teams will continue their recent streak of good luck. Tigres (from Monterrey) and Santos Laguna (from Coahuila) have won 5 of the past 7 Liguillas.

As such, three of the four semifinal matches will be played in Mexico City, two in Estadio Azteca which Cruz Azul and América both call home. That means there could be an “all Estadio Azteca” final, if the two top seeds advance. The last time that happened was over 16 years ago when América defeated Necaxa back before the Rayos moved to Aguascalientes.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. The semifinals should provide plenty of entertainment and the América-Pumas series is highly anticipated here in the Federal District.

A Mexico City derby

The Clásico Capitalino is always intense, whether a regular-season contest, a Liguilla series or even a youth team match, especially a youth team match. The rivalry starts in diapers here.

This week’s two-game series marks the 10th time the two clubs have faced in a knockout stage and América holds the upper hand … by quite a large margin. Seven of the previous nine battles saw the Águilas advance and both times the Pumas eliminated América the second-leg match was played at UNAM. That will not be the case this season as No. 2 América will host the No. 3 Pumas at Estadio Azteca on Sunday night in the return match.

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The last time these two teams met in the Liguilla was during the Apertura 2015 season and also at the semifinal stage. That series was decided in the first match when the Águilas were forced to play the final 20 minutes or so with 9 men and the Pumas carried a 3-0 lead back home for the second leg. UNAM – the No. 1 seed that season – would go on to lose the finals to Tigres.

The most memorable Clásico Capitalino playoff series was the Final in the Liguilla after the 1990-91 season. The Pumas – featuring Tuca Ferretti, David Patiño, Luis García and Alberto García Aspe – defeated América on away goals, losing 3-2 at Estadio Azteca and winning 1-0 at home in the Grand Final.

No. 1 seed takes on No. 5

Coming out of the other bracket, Cruz Azul and Monterrey are trying to end dry spells. Monterrey last won the Liga MX title in the Apertura 2010 season, defeating Santos in the final. The Rayados also won the Apertura 2009 trophy, defeating Cruz Azul in the final. In that season, Monterrey was also a No. 5 seed, as they are today.

Meanwhile, top-seeded Cruz Azul … La Máquina Azul … is trying to end a 21-year title drought. The Cementeros were last crowned Liga MX champions in December 1997. Since then, they have reached the final 5 times and come up empty each time. And the Apertura 2018 marks the 6th time since 1997 that Cruz Azul has entered the Liguilla as the top seed. However, in each of those previous 5 seasons, the Cementeros were knocked out in the quarterfinals by the No. 8 seed. So getting past Querétaro counts for progress.

This week’s series is the 4th time Monterrey and Cruz Azul will go to battle in a Liguilla. The Rayados have won 2 of those encounters and have never lost a playoff game to the Cementeros. Monterrey has won 4 times and tied twice; the one playoff series that Cruz Azul “won” was in the Clausura 2005 after a 0-0 tie in Monterrey and a 3-3 tie in Estadio Azul. Back then, the team with the higher seed advanced if the aggregate score was tied. That will not be the case this time around. This season, away goals are the first tie-break and seeding is the second tie-break.

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