Liga MX ETO Power Rankings: Clausura 2022 Round 13
Apr. 12, 2022 – It’s a dead heat at both the top of the standings and our rankings.
The vote for the top two teams once again came down to Pachuca and Tigres, and you’ll note that we’ve chosen to group them together in one entry this time. That speaks to their separation from the rest of the league in the standings, as well as the ways in which they’ve swapped the top two positions in the table just in this past week – including a head-to-head matchup that we’d been looking forward to for a while.
Whichever of these two is your pick – or if you disagree completely and think it’s another team – leave a comment and let us know. Ultimately, this was the closest decision between one and two we’ve seen in our rankings this season; and after counting up all the votes, we ended up with…
1. Tigres (9-2-2, 29 pts., +11 GD, 2nd in Liga MX)
2. Pachuca (9-2-2, 29 pts., +12 GD, 1st in Liga MX)
Like we said, quite a week for both these teams. Thursday, in their postponed Round 9 meeting, Pachuca ended Tigres’ unbeaten streak and time as Super Lideres with a close victory. That game also saw the end of André-Pierre Gignac’s goal streak, along with Víctor Guzmán recording a brace – including the game-winner at 86’ – to earn his highest-scoring tournament since Apertura 2019. Then came their regularly-scheduled Round 13 games: Saturday, Tigres took back the top of the table, defeating Querétaro in an empty Estadio Corregidora on a golazo from Yeferson Soteldo…who was sent off for the way he celebrated, leaving his team with only nine men. Following that, Tuzos drew with Tijuana and overtook UANL to become Super Lideres again on goal differential…by 1.
Whew!
With four games to go, both teams are almost assured of automatic qualification for the quarterfinals at this point. And while Pachuca indeed came out on top Thursday, with the way things have unfolded since, the question of who is the better team – and the more-likely champion – is still unsettled.
3. Cruz Azul (6-3-4, 21 pts., +4 GD, 5th in Liga MX)
In the hunt for a top-four berth, La Maquina did itself no favors with a draw against a Mazatlán team fighting to stay out of last place. Even worse news, though, is the leg injury suffered by Charly Rodríguez, who had been one of the top offseason acquisitions for Clausura 2022 (3 goals, 2 assists in 12 games). The official diagnosis is a fracture in Rodríguez’s right fibula, and multiple news outlets have reported that he’ll be out for approximately six weeks. According to ESPN, the best-case scenario is a return the week of the Liga MX final, if Cruz Azul makes it that far – and even then, that would be “very optimistic.”
4. Puebla (6-5-2, 23 pts., +8 GD, 3rd in Liga MX)
It could be worse: Puebla stays in the top four after a draw against Pumas on Friday, combined with only one of the teams directly below them in the standings winning this weekend. It could also be better: That draw came about as a result of blowing a 2-0 first-half lead to Pumas, leaving La Franja winless in their last four games. And with 4 points separating 3rd and 7th in the table, and León and Pachuca as their next two opponents, a top-four berth isn’t yet a sure thing.
5. Atlas (6-4-3, 22 pts., +5 GD, 4th in Liga MX)
Los Rojinegros return to the top four, bouncing back from a tough loss to Cruz Azul by beating Necaxa Thursday. Whether they can stay there…well, we mentioned how tightly-packed the standings are above; and Atlas’s remaining schedule consists of one team near the bottom of the table (Mazatlán) – followed by three teams in the top half (Monterrey, Toluca, Tigres).
Also receiving votes: Monterrey, América, Toluca.
Dropped from last week’s rankings: Pumas, León.
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