Blue Cross wrote the most important comeback in its history by eliminating Xolos de Tijuana in the quarterfinals of the tournament Opening 2024 of Liga MX after losing the first leg 0-3.
La Maquina defended its overall lead and points record in the regular phase with intensity in its first appearance in the Liguilla. They needed to win by at least three goals in the second leg, played this Saturday at the Ciudad de los Deportes stadium, and they did so with scores from Ignacio Rivero, Giorgos Giakoumakis and Ángel Sepúlveda.
The captain, Ignacio Riveroopened the door to the comeback in the 44th minute, when it seemed that the first half was disappearing amid frustration due to at least three clear shots on goal by the cement offensive.
A cross from the left wing was not blocked by the line of five Tijuana defenders and, after a rebound in the small area that left the goalkeeper defeated, a header from Rivero emerged that made more than one team explode. 20,000 attendees.
Aware of the need to win by three goals, the Cruz Azul coach, Martin Anselmisent a forward that had only been used twice in the 17 days of the regular phase: Giakoumakis along with Sepúlveda.
Around him were Carlos Rotondi, Lorenzo Faravelli, Luis Romo, Alexis Gutiérrez and Ignacio Rivero himself, who played with the same mischief as in the regular phase to generate multiple scoring options from different angles.
But it was until second half when the comeback was achieved through Giakoumakis and Sepúlveda, between minutes 54 and 74. The cement attackers never stopped insisting and, after saves by José Antonio Rodríguez, legs saving defenses and deflected shots, they found the reward to continue with life in the fight for the title.
Despair did not take its toll on Cruz Azul, but it did on Tijuana. The cement workers were constant until they found the three necessary scores, while Xolos missed two one-on-one plays against the local goalkeeper, Kevin Mier.
Tijuana did not want to finish the series as home or visitor. At the Caliente stadium they wasted 56 minutes with an extra man to make their 3-0 lead even greater. Already in Ciudad de los Deportes, he missed clear options through attackers who had previously shown themselves to be highly skilled, such as Efraín Álvarez and Raúl ‘Pantera’ Zúñiga.
Now Martín Anselmi will have the opportunity to gain revenge for his first tournament in Mexico, when he lost the Clausura 2024 final against América.
Fate puts him against the eagles again, but now in the semifinals. America defeated Toluca 4-0 on aggregate, runner-up of the tournament, and appears as the seventh seed in the Liguilla. That is why Cruz Azul will be measured for the ticket to the final of Apertura 2024.
“With the help of Anselmi, we are going to become champions.” That was the chant of the blue fans during the last 15 minutes of the game, applauding the gallantry of their coach to overcome the 0-3 deficit and settle into a second consecutive semifinal in his management. They must defeat their executioner from last semester, América, to reach another final.
Tijuana, for its part, lost the opportunity to reach its fourth Liga MX semifinal. However, he highlighted that the Colombian coach Juan Carlos Osorioformerly of the Mexican National Team, returned them to a Liguilla after five years.
In this way, the first semifinal of the Apertura 2024 Liga MX tournament is already defined: Cruz Azul against América, with days and times to be defined. The other will be defined with Sunday’s matches, with Atlético de San Luis and Monterrey being the ones with the advantage after their first legs against Tigres and Pumas, respectively.
In another statistic, this was Cruz Azul’s 12th comeback in its history in the final phases, including long tournaments, tying Pumas and Chivas as the teams with the highest figure. Their last history of saving an adverse score had been in the Clausura 2021, precisely when they were champions for the ninth time.
