Deportes Telemundo presents Pachuca vs. Tigres in the first game of the Liga MX Torneo Apertura 2014 quarterfinals, live from Hidalgo Stadium this Wednesday, November 26 at 9PM/8C/6PT on Telemundo. The match will also be available simultaneously on the mun2 cable network, all deportestelemundo.com digital platforms and the Deportes Telemundo EN VIVO EXTRA app.
Acclaimed narrator Andrés Cantor will lead Deportes Telemundo’s award-winning sportscasting team in covering the game, aided by veteran Sammy Sadovnik and the unique and invaluable insights of three-time top Mexican scorer Carlos Hermosillo. Telemundo and mun2 have exclusive rights to broadcast the match live in the United States.
Runner-up Pachuca ended the regular season with a win over Veracruz last Saturday, November 22. The three points it gained as a result put it in seventh in the general ranking after 7 wins, 4 ties and six losses in 17 weeks of play. Tuzos picked up steam as the tournament went on, losing only one of their last seven games.
Several players could play an important role in the quarterfinals. Argentina’s Ariel Nahuelpan is back in Enrique Meza’s lineup after scoring nine goals in the tournament so far, putting him ahead of his countryman, Matías Alustiza, with five. Mexican forward Irving Lozano, fresh from Pachuca’s junior teams, scored an impressive four. The team’s most valuable player, however, is without question goalkeeper Óscar “el Conejo” Pérez, with his heroic saves and commitment to the club.
Tigres are the favorite in this match thanks to their performance in the regular season. In its last game, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León squad beat Toluca 2-1, earning a spot in second place in the league rankings tied with América and Atlas. Ricardo “Tuca” Ferreti’s team wrapped up 17 weeks of play with a spectacular 10-game winning streak. The last time Tigres and Tuzos met on the field was in Week 10 of the tournament, a game the big cats won 3-2 on Pachuca’s turf.
History favors Pachuca in the finals: The two teams have battled for the title twice, in the Invierno 2001 season and the Torneo Apertura 2003, and both times, Pachuca won the championship in away games. The last time they met in the quarterfinals, however, was in the 2011 Opening Tournament, when Tigres beat the Tuzos both at home and away, going on to win the league title.
