Edgar Méndez (center) exults after scoring the first of two goals in Wednesday's Liga MX contest vs UNAM. Necaxa won 3-1, giving their coach Andrés Lillini revenge against the team that fired him in October. (Photo by Cesar Gomez/Jam Media/Getty Images)
Liga MX: Rayados win 6th straight; Rayos bolt past Pumas
Rogelio Funes Mori (left) celebrates with Monterrey teammates after scoring against Querétaro. Funes Mori is second on the Liga MX scoring charts with 6 goals. (Photo by JULIO CESAR AGUILAR/AFP via Getty Images)
Monterrey won their sixth consecutive game to climb back on top of the Liga MX table on Wednesday night, while Víctor Guzmán converted two penalty kicks to lead the Chivas to a 2-1 lead over Tijuana.
In Aguascalientes, Necaxa got off to a quick start then held off a furious Pumas comeback effort to claim a 3-1 win as Rayos coach Andrés Lillini got a measure of revenge against the team that fired him in October.
The Liga MX Midweek Matchday continues with defending champs Pachuca traveling to Mazatlán to take on the last-place Cañoneros tonight while the two remaining Matchday 7 contests are scheduled for next week.
In the meantime, Matchday 8 will commence on Friday with a double-header featuring a Top 10 showdown in Cd. Juárez.
Streaking Rayados rule Liga MX roost
Rogelio Funes Mori and Arturo González recorded first-half goals to lead Monterrey past a struggling Querétaro side.
The 2-0 win moves Víctor Manuel Vucetich’s men to 18 points – 3 points clear of crosstown rivals Tigres – while the Gallos Blancos remain in 16th place with a 0-3-3 record.
The Rayados have now won six straight since dropping their season-opener, the most wins on the trot since Liga MX switched to short seasons in 1996.
Chivas make Xolos pay for mistakes
Guadalajara fell behind in Tijuana when Federico Lértola buried a shot off a goal-mouth scramble in minute 26, but a clumsy challenge by Xolos captain Lisandro López sent Guzmán to the spot and he converted the first of two penalty kicks in minute 39.
The game-winner came after VAR spotted a handball by Tijuana defender Ismael Govea in minute 87 and “El Pocho” made no mistake, converting his 4th goal of the Clausura 2023.
The outcome sees the Chivas rise to 5th in the Liga MX standings (12 points) while the Xolos – in Miguel Herrera’s first game in charge – fell to 14th (7 points).
Rayos bolt past Pumas right from the start
Edgar Méndéz need twice in the first 6 minutes at Estadio Victoria and Necaxa held on for its second victory of the season.
The Spaniard opened the scoring in minute 2, heading home a recentered cross by Alexis Peña, then doubled the lead 4 minutes later, neatly curling a shot inside the far post after a steal by Maxi Silvera.
Nicolás Freire cut the deficit in half before halftime, but Necaxa parked the bus and frustrated the Pumas the rest of the match before Agustín Oliveros found the clincher in minute 84.
Necaxa climbed from 15th to 12th in the Liga MX standings while UNAM fell from 10th to 12th. The win was crucial for the Rayos who have drifted down near the Relegation Zone (derived from a calculation of a team’s performance over the previous three years; the three worst teams – aka the Relegation Zone – must pay hefty fines in lieu of being demoted).
