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They are one of the biggest soccer clubs in Mexico and they have one of the largest fan bases. But they haven’t won a Mexican league title in 23 years.
But Cruz Azul, also known as “La Maquina,” are just 90 minutes away from finally ending the drought as they take a narrow 1-0 aggregate-goal lead into Sunday’s second leg of their Liga MX final series against Santos Laguna.
What time is the Liga MX final?
The Liga MX final is played over two legs. The team that scores the most total goals in both matches will be crowned Clausura 2021 champions. If the teams are tied on total goals after the second leg, they go to a 30-minute extra time. If the draw persists, then a penalty kick shootout will determine the champion.
Liga MX plays split seasons: two seasons per calendar year. The Clausura 2021 champion is recognized as the best team from January to May.
1st Leg Final Score: Santos Laguna 0, Cruz Azul 1
2nd Leg: Cruz Azul vs. Santos Laguna
- Date: Sunday, May 30
- Time: 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT
- Stadium: Estadio Azteca
How to watch the Liga MX final in the USA
2nd Leg: Cruz Azul vs. Santos Laguna
Univision / TUDN will carry the 2nd Leg of the Liga MX final. Both outlets are available via fuboTV’s 7-day free trial.
Cruz Azul, Santos Laguna in Liga MX final
Since their last Mexican title in 1997, Cruz Azul have been to the Liga MX final six times, but they’ve come up short in every instance. These failures have haunted the team over 23 years, but they seem to be close to exorcising those demons once and for all come Sunday’s second leg at home against Santos Laguna.
Fans of La Maquina believe the team is jinxed. They are constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop, but they also feel optimistic about the 1-0 aggregate-goal lead their team secured in their first-leg victory on Thursday. They are so confident that they serenaded the team at the hotel they’re using as the base for Sunday’s second leg. What jinx? The scenes were incredible:
The fans can feel how close it is. A Luis Romo goal in the 71st minute (video below) was all Cruz Azul needed on Thursday in a professional performance in enemy territory where they showed composure and personality.
Santos came at them in waves to start the first leg, but Cruz Azul were unflappable and slowly took control of the game. La Maquina players revealed that they were extra motivated after the tragedy that struck the family of starting winger Roberto “Piojo” Alvarado. The player and his pregnant wife lost the baby they had been expecting and he was not with the team for the first leg in Torreon, Mexico.
But Alvarado will be back for Cruz Azul in the second leg, as will Ecuadorian forward Bryan Angulo, who has recovered from injury and is available off the bench, according to reports.
Cruz Azul, the No. 1 seed in the Liga MX playoffs and the best team in the Liga MX regular season, will be favorites to hoist the trophy at home in the Estadio Azteca. A sold-out crowd of 21,000 fans is expected (25 percent capacity) with tickets selling out within 15 minutes of going on sale last week.
But success hasn’t come easy for Cruz Azul during these Liga MX playoffs. They’ve had to sweat out tough playoff series victories against Toluca in the quarterfinals (advancing 4-3 on aggregate goals) and Pachuca in the semis (1-0 on aggregate goals).
No. 5-seeded Santos and their young squad were never expected to make it this far and they had to win a play-in game just to make the postseason. But they’ll give Cruz Azul all they can handle after coming close to scoring on several occasions in the first leg. Santos were also unlucky to have a goal called back for offside when the score was still deadlocked at 0-0.
Santos, who last won a Mexican league title in 2018, will need a comeback and they’ll hope their 22-year-old Mexican forward Eduardo Aguirre can return to his goal-scoring ways after he was held scoreless in the first leg. Entering the first leg, Aguirre had scored five goals in the five previous playoff matches.
How Liga MX tiebreaker works in the final
Unlike the quarterfinal and semifinal stage of the Liga MX playoffs, the final will NOT employ away goals as a tiebreaker in case teams are tied on goals scored.
If Cruz Azul and Santos are even on aggregate goals at the end of the second leg in Mexico City, 30 minutes of extra time and a penalty-kick shootout will determine which team will hoist the trophy at the Estadio Azteca.
Liga MX Final: Leg 2 Prediction
While fans and media wonder aloud whether another heartbreaking collapse is in the cards for Cruz Azul, this time there’s a different feel about this team. Judging by the first leg, they don’t seem overawed at all by the magnitude of the moment.
So expect Cruz Azul to make their narrow advantage hold up at home to win the trophy. Santos Laguna and their electric front line may very well find a goal to make things interesting (Both Teams To Score is at +100), but this Cruz Azul team will overcome. They won’t let this opportunity pass them by.
Odds courtesy of DraftKings
- Cruz Azul (Moneyline, 90-minute regulation): -106
- Draw (Moneyline, 90-minute regulation): +240
- Santos Laguna (Moneyline, 90-minute regulation): +290
- Cruz Azul to win the trophy: -625
- Santos Laguna to win the trophy: +400
- Both teams to score: +100
- Roberto Alvarado (Cruz Azul) to score: +310
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