Club América and Cruz Azul the teams to beat in playoffs
The two franchises are the only teams in the last two tournaments that have booked their ticket directly to the playoffs of the Liga MX.
Cruz Azul finished in first place after 17 match days of the 2021 Guardianes tournament and they are the favorites to win the title this year. The last time they won the league was back in 1997 and since then they have fallen short of obtaining a ninth league title in their history.
For the 2021 Guardianes tournament Juan Reynoso took over the managerial job and he led the ‘Machine’ to an impressive run during the regular season. Cruz Azul ended up in first place with 41 points and a record of 13-2-2. Their striker Jonatnan Rodríguez won the golden boot with 22 goals and Luis Romo topped the list of assists with 11.
They have shown to be the best team of this tournament and they will have home field advantage throughout the playoffs. They were on top form in the beginning of last year, but due to the coronavirus pandemic the 2020 Clausura tournament got cancelled and their title dream came to an end.
Club América always a contender
On the other hand, the ‘Eagles’ led by new manager Santiago Solari have demonstrated that they have what it takes to win the the title this tournament, Club América is the team with the most titles in the Liga MX (13) and they are looking to increase their hierarchy in this 2021 Guardianes tournament. They almost defeated Cruz Azul on matchday15, but they conceded a late penalty kick that ended with both team sharing the points.
Solari has also shown that a freshman coach is able to understand and do what it takes to win games, because the ‘Eagles’ finished in second place with 38 points and a record of 12-2-3. They lost a game ‘on the table’ after Federico Viñas was not registered for the game against Atlas and the league took away the points and the victory for matchday 7 after they had won on the field. The last time América won the league title was in the 2018 Apertura tournament.
Cruz Azul and Club América are the only two teams in the last two tournaments to book their ticket directly to the playoffs in the Liga MX. They have shown consistency and they have what it takes to lift the title this year. The wildcard round starts this weekend and on Monday they will know who their opponents are for the first round of playoffs.