LIGA MX
Puebla win points deduction appeal: can Cruz Azul qualify for the Liga MX Apertura 2023 play-in round?
La Máquina, who have won nine Mexican league titles, have endured a disastrous tournament, with only Atlas and Necaxa below them in the table.
Cruz Azul’s disastrous Liga MX Apertura 2023 tournament will end in fitting fashion after Puebla won an appeal against a points deduction issued to them earlier in the campaign, leaving La Máquina with no hope of sneaking into the play-in round ahead of the end-of-year liguilla.
What did Cruz Azul need to qualify for the Apertura 2023 play-in round?
Joaquín Moreno’s team were set to go into matchday 17 needing a minor miracle to salvage an unlikely a shot at glory and sneak into the top 10 in the standings. They needed to beat Puebla by a five-goal margin and hope Santos Laguna lost to Atlético San Luis, while Mazatlán, Juárez, Querétaro and Pachuca all dropped points. A four-goal win would also have been enough if Mazatlán lost to Toluca rather than drew.
Why were Puebla deducted points?
However, those permutations have been thrown out the window by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, who have overruled Liga MX’s decision to deduct Pubela three points following an appeal. Los Camoteros defeated Tijuana 3-0 on matchday seven but it was later discovered they hadn’t registered assistant coach Luis Miguel Noriega, who wasn’t authorised to be on their bench. As a result, Los Solos were awarded a 1-0 victory a the three points, a decision which has now be overturned.
This means that Puebla, who Cruz Azul could have overtaken, have moved up into seventh place on 22 points, five ahead of Los Cementeros. Tijuana, by contrast, have dropped down to ninth on 20, with Santos Laguna the team to drop out of the top 10 ahead of the final round of fixtures.
Matchday 17 fixtures work against La Máquina
A quick look at the standings tells us that Cruz Azul can still get to 20 points, which ninth-placed Tijuana, 10th-placed León and 11th-placed Santos Laguna all have at the moment. However, Juárez host León and Pachuca are at home to Tijuana on matchday 17, meaning it is impossible for all four teams to drop points, which is what La Máquina would need to qualify for the play-in round.