Reigning Apertura Champions, Guadalajara crashed to Pachuca in the 3rd Round of Futbol Ligue Mexican last weekend slipping into 4th place (of six teams) in Group 1.

Chivas, making an indifferent start to the new season, playing without inspirational keeper Oswaldo Sanchez, will need to rediscover their Champions form this weekend when they meet Cruz Azul, who sits in 3rd place, one spot above the Champs.

With the game cruising, the all-Mexis looked safe enough to at least pull a point until Pachuca’s substitute striker Landín snuck in at the end and punished the home side with a last gasp victory strike, propelling the newly crowned Copa de Sudamericana Champions into top spot in Group 2. 

Cruz Azul took care of business on the road as the return journeyman, Borguetti scored in classical fashion at the end of the 1st half, taking advantage of a defensive mishap in the box with a blind, back-to-goal redirect that lobbed the stranded keeper and nestled in at the back post.

Monterrey pulled level with Gracián’s penalty kick in the 2nd half, but Cruz Azul was not to be denied as the midfielder Núñez, just minutes later, curled in a left-footed free kick at the near post, sealing the victory in the 63rd min.

Atlas, however, has claimed top spot of Group 1 as their (1-0) victory over America propelled them to the summit (though Necaxa is level on points as they secured a win over Santos). Morelia rounds off the groups as top gunners in Group 3.

Not only does this weekend unfold the mini-classic between Chivas and Cruz Azul, but it will also be interesting as Atlas welcome Morelia and Pachuca host Necaxa in top table Mexican showdowns.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 9th, 2007 at 8:10 pm and is filed under Soccer World, Mexico. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.