Liga MX ETO Power Rankings: Clausura 2022 Round 4
Feb. 8, 2022 – A prominent sports radio commentator once observed that if you try to keep track of your own thoughts about the teams and games you watch, you’re likely to discover how much they go back-and-forth on a week-to-week, perhaps even day-to-day, basis.
Why do we bring this up? Because of the four sets of weekly Liga MX power rankings we’ve issued so far, this one was the most definitive, the most indefinite, the most divisive, and the most distinct – all at once.
Definitive: Only six teams received votes from our blue-ribbon panel, indicating that we have a better idea of which teams are the best in the league. Indefinite: At least two potential top teams weren’t on our ballots, which can be chalked up to scheduling concerns – Toluca and Monterrey’s Round 4 matchup won’t be played until April due to Monterrey’s participation in the FIFA Club World Cup, and Juarez and Chivas’s Round 4 game was rescheduled from Saturday to this Wednesday due to weather. Divisive: Three different teams received first-place votes from our panel…and those same teams each received second- and fourth-place votes. Distinct: The team at the top of our rankings (and the standings) now, didn’t receive any votes last time.
With a game between the top two teams in the standings as its headliner, the Round 5 slate of games should clear some things up about the contenders – at least until we do this again next week.
1. Puebla (3-1-0, 10 pts., +6 GD, 1st in Liga MX)
As noted above, Puebla was not included in our last set of rankings, released Jan. 24th. Since then, they’ve beaten Tijuana in a rescheduled Round 3 game, and Querétaro this past Sunday – making them the Super Lideres on goal differential, and giving them a 3-game win streak heading into a big Friday home game against Atlas. It’s also La Franja’s first 3-1-0 start to a season since Apertura 2004. (For what it’s worth, that season they won their next game to start 4-1-0 – then won exactly one more game the rest of the season and failed to qualify for Liguilla. Sorry.)
2. Pachuca (3-0-1, 9 pts., +4 GD, 4th in Liga MX)
A decisive victory over Necaxa, even with only ten men for about 70 minutes of the match (following a red card to Érick Sánchez). Their schedule looks favorable for the next three weeks – home against Querétaro, at América, home against Mazatlán – before a road game against Atlas to begin March. For now, though, let’s enjoy this from Avilés Hurtado:
3. Atlas (3-1-0, 10 pts., +4 GD, 2nd in Liga MX)
Still no signs of “campeonitis,” as they beat Santos Sunday and now trail the Super Lideres only by goal differential. Manager Diego Cocca again praised his team’s post-championship efforts after the game; and the return of Julio Furch (who missed three games with COVID) only figures to make them more dangerous. The flip side: All four teams Atlas has faced so far are currently in the bottom half of the table. How much will Friday’s game at Puebla tell us?
4. Cruz Azul (3-1-0, 10 pts., +4 GD, 3rd in Liga MX)
Quite a few positives to take from the marquee game of Round 4 Monday night: They handed a tough León squad its first loss of the season; Jesús Corona recorded his third shutout in four games; Uriel Antuna scored for the second consecutive game, which he hadn’t done since September 2019 as a member of the L.A. Galaxy; and he and Charly Rodríguez still look like a couple of great offseason acquisitions, having now combined for 4 of La Maquina’s 6 goals this season.
5. Tigres (2-1-1, 7 pts., 0 GD, 5th in Liga MX)
Tigres are in the mix after two consecutive wins, although they didn’t make it easy on themselves Sunday night. Juan Pablo Vigón’s second career Liga MX brace, a controversial penalty followed by an André-Pierre Gignac PK, and a Carlos González goal just seconds afterward were “enough” to overcome a second-half surge from a point-less Mazatlán squad.
Also receiving votes: Pumas.
Dropped from last week’s rankings: Pumas, Toluca, Monterrey.
Do you agree or disagree with our rankings? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment (below), and be sure to tune in Thursday at 9pm E.T./6pm E.T. for the latest episode of El Mexican Soccer Podcast as we get you set for Round 5 of Clausura 2022!
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