LIGA MX
América, the only Apertura 2023 team without penalties against
Toluca had been the other team not to have conceded a spot kick, but then came the game against Puebla, leaving just one ‘clean’ team.
The 15th matchday of the 2023 Apertura season began with a midweek fixture between Toluca and Puebla. La Franja notched the only goal of the game, thanks to a penalty taken by ‘Memo’ Martínez, keeping their hopes alive for the Play-In stage with six points left to contest.
It’s worth noting that only one team in the Apertura 2023 season has not had penalties awarded against them so far, and that team is América. With three regular-season matches remaining, América aims to maintain this record.
Which teams have the most penalties awarded against them?
Leading the list of most penalties against them are Cruz Azul, Puebla, Chivas, and Querétaro, each with five. Following closely are FC Juárez, Monterrey, and Santos with four each. Next in line are Atlas, León, Pachuca, and Pumas with three penalties against them. Towards the bottom of the list, we find Mazatlán, Necaxa, and Tijuana with two each, and lastly, Atlético de San Luis, Tigres, and Toluca with one penalty against them.
If we look at the other side of the equation, the Águilas have successfully converted two penalties into goals. However, a third opportunity arose against Pumas, which Jonathan Rodríguez initially missed, but he capitalized on the rebound to score, recorded as a goal from open play.
The other two successful penalty conversions occurred in the 6th round against León and in the 13th matchday against Santos, both converted by Julián Quiñones. Interestingly, these goals proved crucial for the Águilas, as they managed to secure a draw against La Fiera and a one-goal victory over Universitarios and Guerreros.
America: yellows and reds
The Águilas have accumulated only 33 yellow cards, which is on par with Pachuca. Even more impressively, Atlético de San Luis, León, and Tijuana have even better statistics in this regard. Additionally, they have received just one red card, which places them on equal footing with FC Juárez, Pachuca, and Pumas in terms of player dismissals.
It’s worth noting that, in this category, only Tigres and Puebla have managed to keep a clean record without any red cards.