Santos

 
All of the familiar symptoms were there. Cruz Azul displayed signs of their usual Liguilla weakness throughout their quarterfinal match-up with Morelia. The symptoms just never manifested in to the full-blown sickness.

 
The Mexican Liguilla starts tonight. This end-of-the season tournament has historically proven to be anyone’s for the taking. It feels especially true this season as none of these remaining teams could be easily discounted. A case could be made for any of the eight to capture the title, albeit some easier than others. Let’s look at the four quarterfinal match-ups that will play out over the next five days:

(1) Tigres v. (8) Monterrey

Schedule:

Wednesday, May 8 at 7:00 (CT), Estadio Tecnologico

 
Last week, I talked about how the Pumas had full control of their destiny in regards to securing a liguilla position. On Sunday afternoon, they backed up those words with a dominant performance against Jaguares de Chiapas and now officially have a spot in this year’s playoffs. Where they will be seeded however, will be decided in the final week of the Liga MX Clausura.

The finals of the Concacaf Champions League begin with the first leg later tonight. Santos Laguna host Monterrey in what will surely prove to be a compelling match-up. I write this with confidence due to the fact that we've seen them face each other so many times.

 
Nothing motivates more than avoiding relegation

 
All good things must come to an end. Things that take me an incredible amount of time and are exceptionally high in fat are easier to end than others. I’m officially putting Torta Tuesday to bed this week. It’s been a good run, but it’s also kind of hard to run on account of all the tortas.

Statement wins highlighted the week’s action. Santos, Chivas, Monterrey, and Morelia all secured three big points that were uncertain heading in to week eight. I could have raised up a torta in honor of all of these teams, but the focus of today’s sandwich was on the fallen. The Gallos Blancos are in hot water after their scoreless draw with Atlas. They now seem destined for relegation. I won't be pouring out any forties, but I just ate this torta stuffed with white poultry meat for Queretaro. It tasted like sorrow.

A nine-man Club America ended Tijuana’s home win streak on Saturday. This tempted me toward a torta called ‘La Aguila’, but I was a little concerned this would drag me over to the dark side. I’d have to start fluffing my hair out like Miguel Herrera and wearing canary yellow around. It was a bad road to go down. Hence, I decided to go with the torta pictured, a ‘Toluqueña’, in solidarity for the Diablos Rojos. They’ve had a rough couple of weeks and need all of the positive vibes they can get heading in to the next few days. So, you’re welcome Toluca and your torta was delicious.

 
Expectations can be tricky. Big clubs carry big expectations even when their play merits modest ones. There are too many cross-sport examples of this to mention, but I will say that Chivas of Guadalajara could be the crux of a thesis paper on this. What’s truly bizarre is when a big club sets the expectation bar so low that they need not break a sweat in meeting them.

Going in to week 16, four teams had already qualified for the playoffs. After week 16, still only four teams have punched their tickets to the Liguilla. Thus, this final week should be interesting. The final four playoff spots are still up for grabs with nine teams still capable of finding their way in (seven teams have realistic chances). Meanwhile, the top four are in a furious competition for Copa Libertadores qualification. It's going to be loco this weekend. You might even say "sea horse carrying a sandwich" loco. That's about as crazy as it gets.