MIAMI, Florida – Cruz Azul’s dream of a Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League and Liga MX double remained alive over the weekend in the Liga MX Clausura Liguilla.
La Maquina advanced to the semifinal round 4-3 on aggregate thanks to a 3-1 win over Toluca in their quarterfinal second leg.
There was no shortage of drama as Cruz Azul were staring at elimination heading into the final 10 minutes with the score locked at 1-1 after Brayan Angulo’s goal in the 11’ had been cancelled out by an Alexis Canelo score for Toluca in the 14’.
But a foul in the Toluca area resulted in a penalty for Cruz Azul and Jonathan Rodriguez coolly converted from the spot to hand Cruz Azul a 2-1 advantage. Santiago Gimenez then capped off the night with a goal in the 90+3’ by collecting a pass from Rodriguez and sweeping a left-footed shot into net.
Puebla’s magical season will continue into the semifinals thanks to a 1-0 win over Atlas in the second leg of their quarterfinal series. The aggregate saw the teams play to a 1-1 draw, but Puebla’s higher finish in the regular season table means they advance to the next round.
Things were stuck in a deadlock until the 70’ when a deep cross resulted in an Atlas own goal from Anderson Santamaria, giving Puebla the result they needed.
There was also a thrilling finish to things in the Monterrey-Santos Laguna quarterfinal second leg, as a late Santos goal earned the Laguneros a 1-1 draw and a place in the final four thanks to a 3-2 win on aggregate.
Maximiliano Meza had Rayados in control after his goal in the 30’, but Santos’ never-say-die attitude would bear fruit in the 90+1’, as Ronaldo Prieto pounced on a deflected ball right in front of the Monterrey goal and fired home to give Santos the series-clinching score.
The Liguilla quarterfinals were rounded out by a memorable quarterfinal second leg affair between Pachuca and Club America that saw the Tuzos advance to the semifinals despite a 4-2 defeat. Pachuca’s 3-1 win in the first leg resulted in a 5-5 draw on aggregate, with their two away goals on Sunday night serving as the tiebreaker.
Romario Ibarra’s goal in the 5’ gave Pachuca a key early away goal, but that was soon countered by a Roger Martinez penalty conversion in the 17’, a Luis Fernando Fuentes goal in the 27’ and a second score from Martinez in the 53’.
With the aggregate at 4-4 and Club America owning the regular season table tiebreaker, Pachuca had to respond and got the decisive second away goal from Gustavo Cabral via penalty in the 63’.
Club America launched a final attack and were a goal away after Leonardo Suarez’s score in the 73’, but the Pachuca defense would hold on the rest of the way to clinch the series.
