MIAMI, Florida – After each posting midweek away wins in their respective 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Round of 16 first legs, Cruz Azul and Club Leon continued their winning ways in Liga MX with victories over the weekend.
The long trip back home from Canada where they defeated Forge FC 1-0 did not seem to adversely affect Cruz Azul, who rolled past Toluca 4-1 in Toluca.
Juan Escobar’s header off a corner kick got Cruz Azul off to a 1-0 lead in the 7’, only for Camilo Sanvezzo to level the home side, 1-1, in the 20’. But the second half would belong to Cruz Azul, with three goals in an 18-minute span, beginning with a header steered home by Carlos Rodriguez in the 64’ to give La Maquina a 2-1 advantage.
A foul on Uriel Antuna in the Toluca area resulted in a penalty kick, which was stroked home by Santiago Gimenez in the 79’ for a 3-1 lead, before the final scoreline was capped by Gimenez’s second of the night in the 82’ via a perfectly placed header.
Fresh off their 2-0 win in Guatemala against Guastatoya, Club Leon traveled back home to host Chivas and downed the Guadalajara club 2-1 in dramatic fashion.
Victor Davila, who had an assist midweek, showed off his scoring touch by giving Club Leon a 1-0 lead in the 18’ when he took advantage of a defensive error and calmly finished past Chivas GK Raul Gudino.
Chivas would work their way back onto level terms late on, however, as Cristian Calderon scored in the 81’ to make it 1-1. Just when it looked like the teams would share the spoils, Club Leon notched a 2-1 winner through Osvaldo Rodriguez in the 90+4’, who gathered in an inch-perfect cross from Davila and finished for the score.
Also in action were Santos Laguna, who registered their second straight clean sheet in a 0-0 draw at FC Juarez. The Torreon club delivered another standout defensive performance following their 1-0 win last Tuesday against CF Montreal, holding Juarez in check throughout, making for a calm night for GK Carlos Acevedo.
Following their thrilling 2-2 draw at Deportivo Saprissa, Pumas took on reigning Liga MX champions Atlas and played to a 0-0 draw in Guadalajara. Veteran GK Alfredo Talavera was once again at his very best, with a pair of top saves in the first half to keep the home side off the scoresheet to help secure the result.
