Atlas beat Necaxa 2-0 at Estadio Victoria on Friday night to open Jornada 12 of the Liga MX Apertura 2026, with goals from Ryan Mmaee and Manuel Capasso.
The win moves Atlas level on points with Club America at the top of the table. Atlas sit provisionally second on goal difference, and they earned the result despite playing the final stretch with 10 men.
For Necaxa, the defeat extends a winless run that now stands at 10 league matches.
Result: Necaxa 0-2 Atlas
Goals: Atlas: Ryan Mmaee 5′, Manuel Capasso 90′.
Competition: Liga MX, Apertura 2026, Jornada 12
Venue: Estadio Victoria, Aguascalientes
Necaxa vs Atlas Match Recap
Atlas needed only five minutes to open the scoring. Florián Monzón was credited with the assist as Ryan Mmaee finished for the 0-1.
The goal was initially disallowed for offside. After a VAR review, the decision was overturned and the goal stood.
Necaxa pushed for an equalizer before halftime but went into the break trailing 0-1. Their clearest opening of the night came just after the restart.
Owen González went one-on-one with Camilo Vargas in the 46th minute. The Atlas goalkeeper won that duel and kept his team in front.
The match turned again in the 68th minute. Milton Valenzuela was shown a straight red card after a VAR review, leaving Atlas with 10 men for the closing stages.
Hernán Crespo reacted from the bench. Jorge Rodríguez replaced Mmaee in the 70th minute, and Manuel Capasso and Édgar Zaldívar entered in the 76th minute.
Necaxa could not turn the extra man into a goal. Capasso then settled the match in the 90th minute, finishing from close range after the ball broke loose inside the Necaxa area.
The 0-2 was Atlas’s third straight league win over Necaxa. The previous two meetings ended 3-2 and 1-0 in Atlas’s favor.
Match Stats
| Stat | Necaxa | Atlas |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 49% | 51% |
| Corners | 10 | 6 |
| Fouls | 14 | 12 |
Possession was close to even on the night. Necaxa won more corners, 10 to 6, but Atlas were the only team to convert their chances.
Starting Lineups
Necaxa: Javier Orantes; Emilio Martínez, Diego Ochoa, Agustín Oliveros, Carlos Vargas; Pedro Pedraza; Emilio Rodríguez, Danny Leyva, Matías Espíndola, Owen González; Julián Carranza.
Atlas: Camilo Vargas; Jorge Sánchez, Adonis Frías, Juanjo Purata, Milton Valenzuela; Elías Montiel, Paulo Ramírez; Kevin Zenón, Luis Esteves; Florián Monzón, Ryan Mmaee.
Three Takeaways From Necaxa vs Atlas
1. Atlas are level at the top, powered by their away form
Atlas now have 21 points from 12 matches. That total matches Club America at the top of the Apertura 2026 table.
The win also extended Atlas’s unbeaten run to four league matches. They have taken eight of the last 12 points available.
Their away record is a major part of the story. Atlas have won five of their six matches on the road this tournament, with one defeat.
2. Ten men did not break Atlas
Valenzuela’s red card in the 68th minute gave Necaxa more than 20 minutes with an extra man. Atlas still closed the match out.
Necaxa won the corner count 10-6 but could not find an equalizer in the closing period.
Instead, the sealing second goal came from an Atlas substitute. Capasso entered in the 76th minute and scored the 0-2 in the 90th.
3. Necaxa’s slide is becoming a crisis of results
Necaxa have now gone 10 league matches without a win. Their last victory came on July 26 against Monterrey, back in Jornada 2.
The home form is just as stark. This was Necaxa’s fifth straight defeat at Estadio Victoria.
Juan Reynoso is still waiting for his first win in charge. His record with Necaxa stands at no wins, one draw and three defeats.
What the Result Means
Atlas move up to 21 points from 12 matches, with six wins, three draws and three defeats. They are provisionally second in the table.
That position is provisional because Jornada 12 is not complete. Club America, level on 21 points and ahead on goal difference, still play Leon this weekend, and the clubs on 20 points also play on Saturday.
Necaxa stay 17th with nine points from 12 matches. Their place is locked for this round, with only FC Juarez below them.
The bigger problem is the gap above them. Necaxa sit at least six points behind the eighth-place cutoff, the final direct Liguilla place, with five matchdays left after this round. Readers can follow the full run-in on the Liga MX schedule page.
What Comes Next
Necaxa travel to face Chivas de Guadalajara on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. Kickoff at Estadio Akron is at 7:07 p.m. CT. The Chivas de Guadalajara hub has the latest on the hosts.
Atlas return home to host Club America on Wednesday, October 21, 2026. Kickoff at Estadio Jalisco is at 8:00 p.m. CT, in one of the headline matches of Jornada 13.
The Club America viewing guide covers how to watch that match in the United States. More viewing information for every fixture is on the Liga MX viewing hub.
Necaxa’s previous match, a 3-3 draw at Pachuca, is recapped in our Pachuca vs Necaxa report.
