Another fascinating edition of the Liga MX ‘Clasico Regiomontano’ will take place when Tigres UANL and Rayados of Monterrey face-off in the quarterfinals of the Clausura 2016. Tigres made a great finish to their season by defeating Cruz Azul in their last game which ultimately earned them a seed in the playoffs as the 8th ranked team. Meanwhile, Monterrey was dominant throughout the course of the season ranking 1st and being the favorite to win this series.
With these results, Tigres and Monterrey will give us another playoffs edition of one of the most passionate rivalries in Mexico on Wednesday, May 11 and Saturday, May 15.
Next is a quick ‘liguilla’ history of this rivalry in since the formation of the ‘Torneos Cortos’:
The ‘auriazules’ and ‘la pandilla’ have faced each other a total of three times in ‘torneos cortos’. Its first edition was in the semifinals of the Clausura 2003 in which Monterrey won the first leg 4-1 at the Estadio Universitario and, Tigres the second leg (2-1) a the Estadio Tecnologico. With a 5-3 aggregate win, Monterrey reached the final and won the title against Monarcas Morelia.
The second edition of this ‘clasico regiomontano’ was in the Apertura 2005 semifinals. This series was a close contest which Monterrey also won after losing in the first leg 0-1, and winning the second leg 2-1. The ‘rayados’ reached the final against Toluca but lost.
The third and final edition of this rivalry took place eight years later, and once again in favor of Monterrey at the Clausura 2013 quarterfinals. In another close series, Monterrey won the first game 1-0, and tied the next 1-1. In another Monterrey misfortune, they would be eliminated against Club America in the semifinals.
This Wednesday will mark the fourth ‘liguilla’ edition in a rivalry which Monterrey has thus far dominated in such knock-out setting. While Monterrey is favored to win due to their higher ranking and overall better league performances, Tigres will go into the playoffs with a focused mind and with the memory that just five months ago they were crowned Liga MX champions. Nonetheless, this will be an exciting series which one cannot afford to miss.
