Cruz Azul’s path to the décima begins at the Caliente Stadium of the Xolos in Tijuana
Blue Cross y Tijuana will star in the key that, in terms of statistics, looks the most uneven of the quarterfinals of Apertura 2024. La Maquina, which has just broken the points record in short tournaments with 17 days, will face for the first time in the history of the Liguillas Onlya team that had to go through two Play In duels to get among the eight best teams of the semester.
Ida: Wednesday, November 27 at 9:10 p.m. (10:10 p.m. ET) at the Caliente Stadium
Vuelta: Saturday, November 30 at 7:10 p.m. (8:10 p.m. ET) at the Ciudad de los Deportes Stadium
Xolos and Cruz Azul will open their Apertura 2024 quarterfinal series this Wednesday in Tijuana ESPN
Blue Crossleader of Opening 2024will return to activity after 18 days of break that La Maquina had after avoiding the Play In round. The last time the cement workers took the field was on November 9, on the last day of the competition, in which they rescued the 1-1 draw against Tigres at the Ciudad de los Deportes Stadium with an agonizing goal from Ángel Sepúlveda.
He Opening 2024 of The Machine was historic. With 13 wins, three draws and one defeat, he collected 42 points, a figure never before reached in the history of short tournaments with 17 days, in what is Martín Anselmi’s second semester on the bench. Blue Cross.
In addition to dominating the general table, Blue Cross also closed the regular phase of the Opening 2024 as the best offense and best defense, after in the 17 days it made 39 scores, while only receiving 12.
Editorial Selections
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The Ciudad de los Deportes Stadium became a fortress for Blue Cross throughout the Opening 2024. At home, La Maquina won 23 of the 27 units they competed in. They only let units escape due to the draws against Toluca and Tigres, while on the road they suffered their only setback, which was against Atlético de San Luis, in addition to the 2-2 against Atlas.
On the side of Onlyit is also a historic tournament, since Juan Carlos Osorio, just in his first tournament with the fronterizos, returned to Tijuana to the quarterfinals, after five and a half years in which the border team had been left without playing a League.
Despite Tijuana finished in seventh position after the regular phase, Only entered the League as eighth place because they lost the first Play In game against América, a team that entered the quarterfinals as seventh and the frontiersmen were left with the last ticket after beating Atlas in the second Play In match.
Tijuana harvested 29 units in the regular phase of the Opening 2024a product of eight wins, five draws and four defeats, the first of which was precisely against Blue Cross on the third day of the competition by a score of 3-0 with a double from Giorgos Giakoumakis and one more from Ignacio Rivero.
Only It comes with a streak of four games without falling in the regulation 90 minutes. They closed the regular phase with a 1-1 against FC Juárez and a 2-1 victory against Puebla. In the first Play In match, they tied 2-2 with América, although they lost in the penalty shootout, in addition to beating Atlas to sneak into the quarter finals.
Blue Cross adds two games without being able to know victory. On Matchday 16, the Machine divided units against Atlas, after 2-2, while on the last date they tied again, but now against Tigres by a score of 1-1.
X Factor: Rodolfo Rotondi
In terms of numbers, Rodolfo Rotondi was the third best offensive player in the regular phase, below Paulinho (13G and 5A) and Henry Martín (8G and 6A), after the Argentine was involved in eleven of the 39 goals of what did Blue Cross Throughout the 17 days, in which the South American played in the left back position, but he also did so as a striker.
Rodolfo Rotondi was the scorer of Blue Cross in the regular phase with seven scores. In terms of assists, the Argentine finished with four, the same as Giorgos Giakoumakis, only below Luis Romo’s five and Carlos Rodríguez’s six.
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Cruz Azul runner-up! These were Tuca Ferretti’s predictions for the Liguilla
Ricardo ‘Tuca’ Ferretti generated his key to the Apertura 2024 Liguilla, where he sees Toluca and Cruz Azul in the final.
Forecast
Blue Cross starts as a favorite to advance to the semifinal in the key that will be played against Tijuana. La Maquina harvested 42 units throughout the regular phase, 13 more than it added Onlya team that finished with 29 points.
At the offensive and defensive level, Blue Cross also showed great superiority over Tijuana. The Machine scored 39, for the 24 it made Onlywhile the cement workers received only twelve scores, compared to the 25 that the border team admitted.
The first leg may be the only chance to Tijuana to be able to give the surprise, after having only lost one duel at the Caliente Stadium, but in the second leg, at the Ciudad de los Deportes Stadium, where Blue Cross He only missed four points, the key will tilt in favor of the cement producers.
Streaks between Cruz Azul and Tijuana
Check here all the news and results of the Liga MX.
The history of the rivalry between Blue Cross contra Tijuana favors The Machine. Both squads have faced each other 27 times in the Liga MXof which the cement producers have won 12 matches, for only six victories of Onlyin addition to the fact that they have tied nine times.
In direct elimination round in the Liga MXit will be the first time that Blue Cross face Tijuanabut there is a precedent of a round of 16 in the 2018 Apertura MX Cup, an instance in which La Maquina eliminated Only and headed to the championship of said competition, in which the cement producers defeated Monterrey in the grand final.
Key duel
Throughout Martín Anselmi’s management in Blue CrossLa Maquina has suffered to stop teams that have fast attacking players, a clear example was the only cement loss in the Opening 2024which took place against Atlético de San Luis, in which the light blue team suffered due to the speed of Franck Boli.
Due to the above, the key-of-the-key duel between Blue Cross y Tijuana will be that of José Zúñiga, the top scorer of Only in it Opening 2024with seven, against Erik Lira, who, precisely because of his speed, has become the last man in the La Maquina defense, which is complemented by Gonzalo Piovi and Willer Ditta.
