Liga MX Matchday 3 Review: Shock as América Loses 2 of its Opening 3 Games

Matchday 3 provided a mix of late drama, spectacular goals and surprises as the early Apertura table begins to take shape before the month-long break for the League's Cup.

Tuesday 16th July 2024

Atlas 1-0 Santos Laguna
Pachuca 2-0 Atlético de San Luís
Querétaro 0-2 Chivas
Puebla 2-2 León
Cruz Azul 3-0 Tijuana

The mid-week action began at the Estadio Jalisco in Guadalajara as Atlas' second half opener through Jeremy Márquez was the first and only goal of the game. At the third time of asking the club finally secured their first win of the campaign, following two draws against Tigres and Juárez. As for Santos, they remain without a win after two defeats and a 1-1 draw against Pumas.

Pachuca were next on the schedule and they also grabbed their first win of the campaign after a loss to Monterrey on the opening day and a goalless draw with León. The CONCACAF Champions League winners opened the scoring through Carlos Sánchez and doubled their lead in the second half as Alan Bautista scored his first goal of the season. San Luís now have a record of one win, one draw and one defeat after three matches.

A sigh of relief can be blown for Chivas and manager Fernando Gago as his team secured their first win of the season. Cade Cowell prodded home following a Chicharito cross after 20 minutes as a 97th minute goal from Alan Mozo secured the win in the dying moments of the game. Whilst it was Chivas' first win, the result also piled on misery for Querétaro, who lost all three games before starting the campaign.

Puebla and León provided some late drama with the sides level going into the dying moments of the game. León looked set for the three points when Jhonder Cadiz scored his second goal of the game in the 87th minute, but Puebla, as they were in their opening game of the season, were awarded a penalty four minutes later with the spot-kick converted by Lucas Cavallini. The result leaves León searching for their first win as Puebla has been saved twice this season with late decisions to give them the same record as San Luís.

The final game of the evening was an eye-catcher between Cruz Azul and Tijuana. Two sides with a 100% record going into the clash in the capital as both sides recorded big results at the weekend. Tijuana got the better of Chivas whilst Azul ran riot up north with a 4-0 demolition of Monterrey. Azul continued to make a marker in this game as new signing Giorgos Giakoumakis made the perfect impression on his home debut for the club. Two smartly converted headers were supported by a neat finish from Ignacio Rivero as Los Azules made it 3 from 3, scoring 8 goals to start the campaign. Hitting the back of the net was a major concern for the club last season but it seems that they have found the perfect formula to change that this time around.

Wednesday 17th July 2024

Juárez 1-2 Pumas
Necaxa 0-1 Monterrey
Tigres 1-0 Club América
Toluca 3-0 Mazatlán

Late drama was the decider again as Pumas came from behind to leave with all the points. Diego Campillo opened the proceedings with an excellent finish from outside of the box to leave Julio González rooted to his spot. Pumas responded on the hour mark through Angel Rico before Rodrigo Lopez came off the bench to curl his effort towards the far corner to seal the win. Juárez has now lost two of its opening three games, whilst Pumas has won two of its first three with the weekend draw against Santos being the black sheep.

Monterrey responded in the perfect way following the 4-0 drumming to Cruz Azul with a win over Necaxa. The home side were looking to build on a defiant win over Puebla but were summoned to a 1-0 defeat due to a Jordi Cortizo finish. The midfielder is still rumoured with a move to Chivas but was able to help his side steal all three points during their visit to the Estadio Victoria.

The big surprise of the round came at the Estadio Universitario as Tigres stole it at the death. The deciding moment came in the 87th minute as Marcelo Flores finished a quick free-kick move whilst the América defenders were fast asleep. Curling his effort beyond the returning Luis Malágon, the goal was the best response to not playing a single minute during Mexico's Copa América campaign. The result raises concern for André Jardine as his side has now lost more games (2) than what they did throughout the entire Apertura last year (1).

Toluca and Mazatlán finished the round at the Estadio Nemesio Díez. Looking to build on a 3-2 win over Juárez, Toluca's spirits were high for this game whilst Mazatlán remain searching for their first win of the season. Paulinho started the game by adding to his home debut brace at the weekend. A true poachers finish to finish a smart cross from Jesus Ángulo. Piling on the misery, Brian Garcia and Alexis Vega added their first goals of the season to round off a smart 3-0 win for Los Diablos Rijos.

Which team impressed you the most this gameweek? Let us know!