Liga MX ETO Power Rankings: Clausura 2022 Round 11

Mar. 22, 2022 – The choices for the two best teams in Liga MX were easy.  Which of them is the best, is a tougher question to answer.

The voting for No. 1 in our power rankings was the closest it’s been all season.  Tigres and Pachuca, the two hottest teams in the league with the two longest unbeaten streaks, combined for all of the first- and second-place votes from our blue-ribbon panel – with exactly one ballot making the difference in who got the top spot.  Their Round 13 matchup at Estadio Hidalgo is shaping up to be the game of Clausura 2022.

Agree or disagree with where our final vote ended up?  Leave a comment and let us know what you think.  There are no games this week due to a FIFA break, so our power rankings will return in two weeks after the conclusion of Round 12.  Until then, read ‘em and weep:

1. Pachuca (8-1-1, 25 pts., +13 GD, 1^st in Liga MX)

6-1-0 in their last 7 games, and a 5-game win streak – most recently, a 1-0 win over Cruz Azul in which Tuzos were the superior team by most accounts.  That win streak also includes victories over Toluca and Atlas in two games before Saturday, and their schedule doesn’t get easier to start April: A resurgent Santos squad in Round 12, followed by Tigres as mentioned above.  Making things more difficult, they’ll likely have to do it without midfielder Romano Ibarra, after what multiple outlets reported to be a torn calf Saturday.  Ibarra had started 9 games, with a goal and an assist.

2. Tigres (7-2-1, 23 pts., +9 GD, 2^nd in Liga MX)

Simply unstoppable.  Tigres got their second straight shutout, ending rival Monterrey’s 3-game win streak in the process; and they’re 7-1-0 in their last 8 games.  Only Pachuca’s win over Cruz Azul later Saturday night kept them from reaching the top of the table for the first time since Clausura 2019, their last championship tournament.  André-Pierre Gignac – him again! – scored for a career-high 8^th consecutive game, joining Saturnino Cardozo (Apertura 2002), Salvador Cabañas (Clausura 2004), and Héctor Mancilla (Clausura 2009) as the only players to accomplish that feat in a short tournament.  Our old friends at ESPN have much more on how Gignac went from one of his worst years, production-wise, to maybe his best one yet.

If all that isn’t enough, Tigres may have also had the golazo of the weekend, courtesy Gignac’s fellow Frenchman Florian Thauvin:

3. Puebla (6-4-1, 22 pts., +9 GD, 3^rd in Liga MX)

Even considering how well Santos has been playing lately, Friday night’s draw at home was something of a surprise.  For a team that had been known for pulling out close games, this is the second straight week Puebla has blown a game late – this time, allowing two goals in the 78^th and 80^th minutes.  At 4 points clear of reclassification, La Franja now enters a fairly tough stretch of their schedule: Toluca, Pumas, León, and Pachuca.

4. Atlas (5-4-2, 19 pts., +5 GD, 4^th in Liga MX)

Atlas holds on to 4^th place and a quarterfinal qualifying berth – partially due to the teams beneath them losing, partially due to escaping an intense Clásico Tapatío with a draw at the last minute.  Julián Quiñones’ stoppage-time goal leaves Los Rojinegros unbeaten in their last three games, and seemingly past a brief slump heading into the break.

5. León (5-3-3, 18 pts., 0 GD, 5^th in Liga MX)

León now finds itself one point shy of the top four in the standings by continuing an overall good run since mid-February.  Other than Round 10’s loss to Tigres, they’ve taken advantage of a weak schedule, going 4-1-1 in their last 6 games.  That figures to continue, at least for a little while: They’ll face two more teams near the bottom of the table, Querétaro and San Luis, before a home game against Puebla on Apr. 16^th.

Also receiving votes: Necaxa, Santos, Cruz Azul, Monterrey.

Dropped from last week’s rankings: Cruz Azul

Be sure to join us on all of our social media platforms Thursday at 10pm E.T./7pm P.T. for the latest edition of ETO’s Puro Pinche Watch Party, as we react to Mexico’s latest World Cup Qualifier against the United States!

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