"Championitis" surges in Monterrey, a shaky start for relegation candidates and a Cruz Azul pick up where they left off - in the regular season.
Relegation candidates Necaxa, UANL Tigres and Querétaro made it hard for themselves to begin the season, as the latter two drew and the former dropped a 1-0 decision to Jaguares. The other implicated team, Atlas - slammed five goals into Morelia's net and made it a flying start for them.
Cruz Azul beat Estudiantes Tecos 4-1 and cemented their reputation as a title contender. América dropped 2-0 at home to Pachuca, while Chivas drew 1-1 at Puebla. Defending champion Monterrey crashed out of the gate and were defeated 2-0 by visiting Puebla.
Newly acquired Damián Manso was the responsible party for his team's first win of the season, by scoring the lone goal in the season opener against Necaxa.
Despite losing top scorers Danilinho and Carlos Ochoa over the off-season, Manso picked up where his new team's former stars left off, managing a strong, fast offensive squad up the pitch for several chances, ultimately bulldozing past the Necaxa back line and breaking through for the Apertura's first goal of the season.
It will be crunch time for Necaxa and Daniel Brailovsky's men, who now have just 16 games to turn their fortunes around and amass as many points as possible in order to stay in the top division.
Jaguares will face América in their home opener next week, a Saturday afternoon match that will feature the wounded giants in their first road fixture.
The defending champions got their season off with the wrong foot as visiting San Luis outclassed an alternative Monterrey side and easily dispatched them by a score of 0-2.
Osmar Mares and Juan Carlos Medina scored in the late stages of the match for San Luis and pushed the champions up against the wall early and often with pressure at both ends of the pitch that Victor Manuel Vucetich's squad was unable to break.
The San Luis side, eliminated last season in the quarterfinals, gripped the match from the very beginning and took advantage of several key absences in the Monterrey starting lineup.
Monterrey will face Estudiantes Tecos next Friday evening.
A 4-1 thrashing eliminated any talk of a slow start and lingering hangover from the disappointing postseason antics of last season's top team Cruz Azul.
Villa, Gimenez, Palau and Ponce all scored for the Blues, while the visitors' lone strike was a well-executed penalty kick from Mauro Cejas. That goal put Tecos down by just one score after Villa and Gimenez had made it 2-0 in the game's opening 15 minutes.
The gulf in class was further widened when Ponce made it 3-1 prior to halftime. A Gonzalo Pineda penalty kick put the definitive scoreline in place, and Cruz Azul find themselves in a recognizable position to start the season: near the top of the table.
Tecos are one the implicated teams at the bottom of the relegation table, and must now buckle into emergency mode as they look to amass units.
A flying 2-0 start featuring a Bueno brace was not enough to hold back the surging Tigres, in a match featuring two teams close to the burn area for relegation.
The match looked all but dead for the visitors after Bueno's second goal, a superb finish after a long ball had put the Tigers' defense in jeopardy, but Lucas Lobos charged forward and helped his team make a game of it once more.
Lobos' heroic antics began with a precise pass to the middle of the box which new signing Danilinho tapped in to make it 2-1, and the Argentine playmaker capped off his excellent match with a superb strike from outside the box in order to draw level.
Argentine manager Gustavo Matossas was thus unable to conclude his Mexican coaching debut with a win for Gallos Blancos.
Carlos Darwin Quintero and Christian Benitez gave Santos Laguna their first victory of the season, beating a surprising Atlante team which gave the home team a run for their money but were ultimately unable to capitalize on offensive chances in front of goal.
Quintero opened the match in the second half with a superb volley, while Benitez's speed gave and dribbling skills gave him the upper hand against Atlante's back line.
Benitez, the tournament's top scorer last season, found the net again and began 2011 in great form.
Meanwhile, Fernando Navarro scored the lone goal for Atlante, who suffered from a bit of hard luck after their latest result.
Atlas exploded against Morelia and barraged the visitors with goals -- five in total in order to begin the Clausura 2011 season as the country's top team.
Gerardo Espinoza scored a brace, while Willman Conde, Christian Diaz and Daniel Osorno also found their way to the net in the drubbing. Atlas, a prime relegation candidate, started the season off in style and gave themselves a bit of breathing room above Necaxa, who lost.
Atlas manager Benjamin Galindo stressed temperance even after the huge win, as the season is long and Atlas' fortunes are not at all defined with 16 games remaining in the schedule.
Monarcas manager Tomas Boy was critical of his team's effort level but praised the opposition.
Making good on his promise to deliver points early in the season, Puebla manager Jose Luis Trejo held visiting Chivas to a draw in their home opener.
Goals from Felix Borja and an own goal from Gerardo Lugo made the score 1-1. The offensive woes for Chivas continued, who were unable to produce significant threats to the goal defended by Alexandro Alvarez.
Puebla were denied a second goal in the game when it was deemed that Borja was offside, a controversial call that if omitted, would have swung the match squarely on the home team's side with little more than 15 minutes remaining on the clock.
Jose Luis Real, Chivas' manager, was quoted as being satisfied with the result poached from the Estadio Cuauhtemoc in Puebla. Chivas will return home for their second week fixture.
In Toluca, the ten-time champions were close to giving new manager Sergio Lugo a dream debut after Nestor Calderon made it 1-0 in favor of the locals.
However, with ten minutes remaining, Juan Carlos Cacho tied the match for UNAM and spoiled the Bicentenario 2010 champions possibility of sending their fans home with a win.
A combination of mistakes and bounces following a Leandro Augusto corner culminated with the ball falling to Cacho, who speared at the chance and poked it through, beating Alfredo Talavera to the punch and saving a valuable point for UNAM Pumas.
Last year's Cinderella team sneaked into the playoffs with the eighth seed but beat top-ranked Cruz Azul to move into the semis, where they were dispatched by eventual champs Monterrey.
Pachuca took advantage of a wild play off a free kick and then expanded on their lead in the second half in order to deny América of any points in the first match of the season and thus cement a dream debut to the Clausura 2011.
Yulian Anchico made it 1-0 after a free kick bounced off of Juan Carlos Valenzuela's back and left the newly acquired player in front of Guillermo Ochoa, who could do nothing as Anchico rifled the ball in the back of the net.
Two goals were dubiously called back for América, both due to phantom off-side calls. In the second half, Edgar Benitez made it 2-0 after coming off the bench and beating Ochoa with a fantastic shot that slammed into the top corner.
América will try to rebound this Saturday against Jaguares as they venture out for their first road fixture of the season.
Cruz Azul beat Estudiantes Tecos 4-1 and cemented their reputation as a title contender. América dropped 2-0 at home to Pachuca, while Chivas drew 1-1 at Puebla. Defending champion Monterrey crashed out of the gate and were defeated 2-0 by visiting Puebla.
Newly acquired Damián Manso was the responsible party for his team's first win of the season, by scoring the lone goal in the season opener against Necaxa.
Despite losing top scorers Danilinho and Carlos Ochoa over the off-season, Manso picked up where his new team's former stars left off, managing a strong, fast offensive squad up the pitch for several chances, ultimately bulldozing past the Necaxa back line and breaking through for the Apertura's first goal of the season.
It will be crunch time for Necaxa and Daniel Brailovsky's men, who now have just 16 games to turn their fortunes around and amass as many points as possible in order to stay in the top division.
Jaguares will face América in their home opener next week, a Saturday afternoon match that will feature the wounded giants in their first road fixture.
The defending champions got their season off with the wrong foot as visiting San Luis outclassed an alternative Monterrey side and easily dispatched them by a score of 0-2.
Osmar Mares and Juan Carlos Medina scored in the late stages of the match for San Luis and pushed the champions up against the wall early and often with pressure at both ends of the pitch that Victor Manuel Vucetich's squad was unable to break.
The San Luis side, eliminated last season in the quarterfinals, gripped the match from the very beginning and took advantage of several key absences in the Monterrey starting lineup.
Monterrey will face Estudiantes Tecos next Friday evening.
A 4-1 thrashing eliminated any talk of a slow start and lingering hangover from the disappointing postseason antics of last season's top team Cruz Azul.
Villa, Gimenez, Palau and Ponce all scored for the Blues, while the visitors' lone strike was a well-executed penalty kick from Mauro Cejas. That goal put Tecos down by just one score after Villa and Gimenez had made it 2-0 in the game's opening 15 minutes.
The gulf in class was further widened when Ponce made it 3-1 prior to halftime. A Gonzalo Pineda penalty kick put the definitive scoreline in place, and Cruz Azul find themselves in a recognizable position to start the season: near the top of the table.
Tecos are one the implicated teams at the bottom of the relegation table, and must now buckle into emergency mode as they look to amass units.
A flying 2-0 start featuring a Bueno brace was not enough to hold back the surging Tigres, in a match featuring two teams close to the burn area for relegation.
The match looked all but dead for the visitors after Bueno's second goal, a superb finish after a long ball had put the Tigers' defense in jeopardy, but Lucas Lobos charged forward and helped his team make a game of it once more.
Lobos' heroic antics began with a precise pass to the middle of the box which new signing Danilinho tapped in to make it 2-1, and the Argentine playmaker capped off his excellent match with a superb strike from outside the box in order to draw level.
Argentine manager Gustavo Matossas was thus unable to conclude his Mexican coaching debut with a win for Gallos Blancos.
Carlos Darwin Quintero and Christian Benitez gave Santos Laguna their first victory of the season, beating a surprising Atlante team which gave the home team a run for their money but were ultimately unable to capitalize on offensive chances in front of goal.
Quintero opened the match in the second half with a superb volley, while Benitez's speed gave and dribbling skills gave him the upper hand against Atlante's back line.
Benitez, the tournament's top scorer last season, found the net again and began 2011 in great form.
Meanwhile, Fernando Navarro scored the lone goal for Atlante, who suffered from a bit of hard luck after their latest result.
Atlas exploded against Morelia and barraged the visitors with goals -- five in total in order to begin the Clausura 2011 season as the country's top team.
Gerardo Espinoza scored a brace, while Willman Conde, Christian Diaz and Daniel Osorno also found their way to the net in the drubbing. Atlas, a prime relegation candidate, started the season off in style and gave themselves a bit of breathing room above Necaxa, who lost.
Atlas manager Benjamin Galindo stressed temperance even after the huge win, as the season is long and Atlas' fortunes are not at all defined with 16 games remaining in the schedule.
Monarcas manager Tomas Boy was critical of his team's effort level but praised the opposition.
Making good on his promise to deliver points early in the season, Puebla manager Jose Luis Trejo held visiting Chivas to a draw in their home opener.
Goals from Felix Borja and an own goal from Gerardo Lugo made the score 1-1. The offensive woes for Chivas continued, who were unable to produce significant threats to the goal defended by Alexandro Alvarez.
Puebla were denied a second goal in the game when it was deemed that Borja was offside, a controversial call that if omitted, would have swung the match squarely on the home team's side with little more than 15 minutes remaining on the clock.
Jose Luis Real, Chivas' manager, was quoted as being satisfied with the result poached from the Estadio Cuauhtemoc in Puebla. Chivas will return home for their second week fixture.
In Toluca, the ten-time champions were close to giving new manager Sergio Lugo a dream debut after Nestor Calderon made it 1-0 in favor of the locals.
However, with ten minutes remaining, Juan Carlos Cacho tied the match for UNAM and spoiled the Bicentenario 2010 champions possibility of sending their fans home with a win.
A combination of mistakes and bounces following a Leandro Augusto corner culminated with the ball falling to Cacho, who speared at the chance and poked it through, beating Alfredo Talavera to the punch and saving a valuable point for UNAM Pumas.
Last year's Cinderella team sneaked into the playoffs with the eighth seed but beat top-ranked Cruz Azul to move into the semis, where they were dispatched by eventual champs Monterrey.
Pachuca took advantage of a wild play off a free kick and then expanded on their lead in the second half in order to deny América of any points in the first match of the season and thus cement a dream debut to the Clausura 2011.
Yulian Anchico made it 1-0 after a free kick bounced off of Juan Carlos Valenzuela's back and left the newly acquired player in front of Guillermo Ochoa, who could do nothing as Anchico rifled the ball in the back of the net.
Two goals were dubiously called back for América, both due to phantom off-side calls. In the second half, Edgar Benitez made it 2-0 after coming off the bench and beating Ochoa with a fantastic shot that slammed into the top corner.
América will try to rebound this Saturday against Jaguares as they venture out for their first road fixture of the season.
