Toluca are the new leaders of the Apertura 2026. The Diablos Rojos beat Puebla 1-0 on Tuesday night at the Estadio Cuauhtémoc in their rescheduled Matchday 7 fixture, reaching 19 points and jumping past Chivas at the top, two nights after Chivas had celebrated taking first place.
It was a weekend of statement results across Liga MX: 27 goals in nine Matchday 8 games, a seven-goal Clásico Joven, and Chivas firmly back as a title contender. Here’s the full picture.
All Matchday 8 results
- Necaxa 0-1 Puebla (Friday), the result that cost Martín Varini his job
- Atlante 0-3 Pachuca
- Xolos 0-1 Querétaro
- Toluca 5-2 Atlas, the joint-highest-scoring game of the round
- Monterrey 0-0 Tigres, the round’s only goalless draw, in the Clásico Regio
- Cruz Azul 4-3 América, a Clásico Joven that delivered seven goals
- Santos 2-1 Juárez
- Chivas 3-0 Pumas
- León 2-0 San Luis (Monday), Diber Cambindo scored both
- (Rescheduled Matchday 7, Tuesday) Puebla 0-1 Toluca
Clásico Joven: Cruz Azul end América’s unbeaten run
The game of the round. Cruz Azul beat América 4-3 in a Clásico Joven that lived up to the name, handing Las Águilas their first defeat of the tournament. América had been the league’s last unbeaten team. La Máquina climb to fourth with 15 points and are right in the title conversation. América, now third with 16, get no time to dwell: the Clásico Nacional against Chivas is Saturday.
Chivas 3-0 Pumas: the Rebaño are real
Chivas took apart Pumas 3-0 at the Akron, with 19-year-old Santiago Sandoval scoring twice and Bryan González adding the third. The win put Guadalajara on 17 points and, briefly, top of the table, a remarkable turnaround for a side that lost 24-goal striker Armando González to Olympiacos. Six different Chivas players have scored this season, with Roberto Alvarado and Ricardo Marín leading the way on four each.
Standings: top 8 (after Tuesday night)
| # | Team | Pts | GD |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toluca | 19 | +12 |
| 2 | Chivas | 17 | +9 |
| 3 | América | 16 | +9 |
| 4 | Cruz Azul | 15 | +2 |
| 5 | Querétaro | 13 | +3 |
| 6 | León | 13 | +2 |
| 7 | Tijuana | 13 | +2 |
| 8 | Puebla | 13 | 0 |
Toluca’s game in hand proved decisive. Going into Tuesday night with one fewer match played than Chivas, Antonio Mohamed’s side made it count. At the bottom, Juárez remain pointless after eight defeats, the worst start in short-tournament history, while Santos (4 pts) and San Luis (6) are in trouble.
Looking ahead: Clásico Nacional
Matchday 9 opens Friday with Puebla vs. Atlante and Juárez vs. Tigres. Saturday is the big one: América vs. Chivas at 9 p.m., second against third separated by a single point, with Monterrey vs. Cruz Azul and San Luis vs. Necaxa earlier in the evening. Chivas arrive as leaders-in-waiting; América arrive wounded. It doesn’t get better than that.
