Another ‘jornada’ has passed us by, and as you might expect, the unexpected happened. The lock of the week, first placed Toluca vs bottom-feeders Jaguares? Of course Jaguares won. Veracruz and Morelia continued to impress, while América and León struggled. At this point, you would believe it if someone told you the table was upside-down.
Here are 5 Takeaways from ‘Jornada’ 3:
1 Marchesin the Flop?
Three matches into 2017, América fans have been left scratching their heads about one particular move this transfer window; the arrival of Agustín Marchesín from Santos to replace Moises Muñoz, who was somewhat inexplicably loaned out to Chiapas. Marchesín’s tenure didn’t start out well and things only got worse this past Saturday when his efforts against Tigres, particularly on the first goal by Ismael Sosa, seemed lackluster to many. Whether it be slow reaction times or just straight up lack of effort, patience is growing thin with the new Aguilas keeper.
2 The Minnows Strike
Necaxa and Jaguares picked up their first wins of the season this weekend. Perhaps you may not think of Necaxa as minnows in the first place considering their outstanding Apertura, but Los Rayos looked awful during the first two weeks of the season, failing to score and losing their first two matches. They surprised us all with an impressive home win over Pachuca, containing the dynamic Tuzos offense in the process.
Jaguares also picked up their first win of the season, on the road at league leaders Toluca, who had looked fantastic in their new stadium up to that point. Again, an offense that has proven capable of creating goals from thin air was shut down. The Jaguares defense has done a fine job so far. Last season Toluca and Pachuca combined for a rate of 1.7 goals per game; Chiapas held them to a rate of .5 goals per game over the past two weeks.
3 Rayados Stumble Again
They’ve given up 2 goals in all three of their games this year, and quite frankly, the results don’t tell the full story. They faced a nine-man Chivas, and barely hung on for the draw this week against Cruz Azul. In fact, they were bailed out by a terrible offsides decision late in the game. This looks like more of the same of what we saw in the Apertura; a talented squad that continues to underachieve. Just a year ago this team had one of the best regular seasons ever in Liga MX, and came within a few minutes of the title. Hard to believe they’ve fallen so far so fast.
4 Puebla Crowds Continue to Dwindle
Puebla’s Apertura attendance was nothing to write home about, sure. But the club managed to bring in just 10,007 supporters to their Sunday night match against Queretaro, a shockingly low figure. Combined with the massive Estadio Cuauhtémoc, it makes for quite a dull atmosphere. In a league that prides itself on fantastic fan support, Puebla is a major outlier. Unfortunately, as things stand, the fans have little to cheer about, as Puebla look to be en route for a bottom of the table finish, and possibly even a trip to the Ascenso.
5 New Look Monarcas
The season is still young, but things are going well for Morelia. Really well, in fact. During the Apertura the team relied on Raul Ruidiaz and a high scoring offense to succeed, but of course, the goals dried up as the season went on and they fell well short of the playoffs. In 2017 they’ve conceded just once in 3 games, and it is the defense and goalkeeper Carlos Rodríguez leading the way.
6 Bonus: Lightning Quick Brace in Ascenso MX
As a bonus for this week, check out this impressive feat of goal-scoring magic from FC Juarez forward Leandro Carrijo. As you can see the Brazilian manages to score two headers just 78 seconds apart. The effort was all it took to earn the 3 points for FC Juarez.
https://youtu.be/oUmJ-I8zrkw?t=21s
