Player number 12 was present at the Aztec stadium during the last home game Blue Cross in it Closing tournament 2022 and he did it through jeers and whistles. The cement fans thus bid farewell to the season at their team’s home after they added another defeat by falling 0-1 to Athletic Saint Louisa team that, on paper, looked like a victim.
Machine jumped with the opportunity to win and climb to the first four places in the general table, which would give him a certain advantage to secure the direct pass to the quarterfinals on matchday 17, when he faced America. However, once again the offensive inefficiency was present in the cement group.
saint Louis took advantage of the deconcentration of the cement defense during the compensation time of the first half and in a matter of three passes he put a filtered ball at the height of the penalty spot for his defense, Ricardo Chavezwho entered behind the back of Adrian Aldrete Y Alexander Mayorga to then elude the goalkeeper, Sebastian Juradoand give the potosinos the advantage before the end of the first half.
The anger was evident in blue midfielders and forwards like Erik Lyra Y Uriel Antuna, who criticized the lack of concentration of its defenders. Although Machine he achieved 59% total possession at the end of the game and 12 shots on goal by seven of his rivals, Chávez’s goal was the one that made the difference in the second half and they could not recover.
The cement fans made their displeasure known as the clock ticked down in the second half, booing players like rafael baca and Ivan Morales when they entered and left the field, respectively. The whistle became more noticeable at the moment of the final whistle, under heavy rain in the south of the Mexico City which was in keeping with the gray landscape of Blue Cross in their last home game of the season.
Cruz Azul played nine games in total in the Aztec stadium (at home, because on matchday 17 they will play against America in this same venue but as a visitor) and accumulated five defeats, against Necaxa, Santos Laguna, Puebla, Chivas Y Athletic Saint Louisin addition to winning four, against Tijuana, Juarez Braves, Cougars Y Atlas. Machine they had not lost five times in the same tournament at home since the 2016 Apertura.
Against San Luis, the biggest attempts were made by Uriel Antunaoverflowing at high speed and sending a lot of crosses from the right flank, as well as Christian Tabo and Ignatius Rivero trying to create options starting from the midfield. Another of the highlights already in the second half were Santiago Gimenez and Ivan Moralesalthough his few shots on goal were contained by the goalkeeper from Potosí, Marcelo Barovero.
Blue Cross they have only won two of their last five games and, although their position in the postseason of the MX League It is not at risk as it is sixth in the general table with 24 units and with only one day to play, the relationship with its fans will have to be healed with what happens in the playoffs. It should be noted that Cruz Azul needs to finish in eighth place in the general table at most to be able to play the playoff at home, otherwise, it would serve as a visitor in this tie, which is a single match.
Despite being played on Sunday afternoon (5:00 p.m. Central Mexico), the duel between Blue Cross Y saint Louis it only registered the attendance of 17,222 fans, which represents 21% of the total capacity of the Azteca stadium. It was the club’s fourth worst entry at home in Clausura 2022, while the worst was on matchday 10, against Cougars, when only 12,686 entered. On the contrary, the best entry occurred on date 7 against Santos, receiving 33,924.
Cruz Azul will seek to close the tournament with 27 units if it manages to beat America on the last day of the regular phase, although the eagles are motivated with a streak of six straight wins. Nevertheless, Machine It has already exceeded the points achieved in the 2021 Opening, where they closed with 23 and were eliminated in the playoff against Monterrey.