The final stage of the Mexican tournament will continue this weekend, with no clear favorite in any of the four quarterfinal ties and with everything to be sorted out ahead of next week's semi-finals.
San Luis and Guadalajara were the only lower-ranked teams to claim a lead in their series, but none of them were as emphatic as their fans would expect. With that in mind, it seems that all bets will be off for all weekend fixtures.
As things stand, the teams that would make the semis are América, Tigres UANL, Guadalajara and San Luis, but as stated before, things are bound to change once the return legs are played.
Without further ado, let's look at all the fixtures.
Saturday, December 2
América vs León - The first leg of this clash ended in an entertaining 2-2 draw, but some say América were damaged by the referee's decision, as a couple of León's players should have been sent off. On the other hand, some say the first goal by Las Águilas should have been disallowed due to an offside, which has only fueled controversy for this game. Now, in the return leg, América will have a full arsenal to choose from to damage Los Esmeraldas, while Nicolás Larcamón and his men will recover Fidel Ambriz and Lucas Romero, but could be without Angel Mena due to a muscular problem he picked up in the international break. América have the upper hand in this tie, as a win or a draw, would see them through, while León need to beat Las Águilas to claim the spot in the semis.
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Monterrey vs Atlético San Luis - The first leg in this tie saw San Luis beating Monterrey one-nil at home, but the general sensation is that the team owned by Atlético Madrid had a chance to score at least once more, leaving Monterrey with a big chance to turn things around at home. Rayados will recover some players for this clash, which will give them more hope to shift things their way, while San Luis will rely on the speed and skills of their wingers to knock Rayados out with a quick counter-attack. It is safe to say that San Luis's chances of success will be strongly related to what Rayados' coach Fernando Ortíz contemplates for this game, since the former América boss has never won a playoff tie in which he entered the second leg with some sort of disadvantage. A win or a draw will be enough for San Luis to go through, while any win will do the trick for Monterrey to reach the next stage.
Sunday, December 3
Pumas UNAM vs Guadalajara - Another game with controversial calls took place between Guadalajara and Pumas, with Chivas' win being tarnished by a would-be penalty that VAR officers overlooked. Now, Pumas will be playing in front of their supporters trying to repeat what happened on Matchday 17, where the team led by Antonio Mohamed won 1-0, which is exactly the score that would send them through. Even if Pumas seem to have the lead, they will need to put up a far better performance than the one they showed on Thursday, when they barely came close to scoring at Akron Stadium. With that in mind, Pumas need a win to see themselves in the semi-finals, while any win or a draw for Chivas would be enough to return to the final four like six months ago.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
Pumas UNAM 3 - 0 Guadalajara
December 3, 2023 6:00pmEstadio Olímpico Universitario (Ciudad de México (D.F.))This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
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Tigres UANL vs Puebla - La Franja came close to beating Tigres, but poor defending in the final stretch of the game saw the defending champions leveling the game with little time on the clock. Now, the team led by Ricardo Carbajal will have to pull off a stunner at Estadio Universitario, as they have only beaten Tigres at their own home twice in their last ten trips to that venue. The home team may still have to make do without André-Pierre Gignac, but that should not be an issue considering that any win or draw would see them through to the semis. Meanwhile, La Franja are in need of a win to go back to the final four, something they have failed to do since 2021.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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