A classic of contrasts will close the Mexican soccer tournament when América and Cruz Azul face each other in search of a direct ticket to the quarterfinals. While the eagles arrive packed with a streak of six consecutive wins that have allowed them to climb from the last place in the general table to fifth in less than eight weeks, the cement producers arrive with a beaten spirit after having closed with five defeats playing at home.
“This is a Clasico, it has to be taken as a separate game, at least that’s how we’re going to take it. Nobody likes to lose Clásicos, the matches are resolved in details, it will be very difficult; If you get an adverse result, there is no time to regret because the playoff would come, ”said Ángel Romero, striker for Cruz Azul, in the conference prior to the Clásico Capitalino.
The Machine will close the Clausura 2022 tournament with the administrative label of ‘visitor’ to America, since in reality both have been playing at home in the Azteca stadium for four years. The cement producers are also looking to qualify within the top four to avoid the playoffs, something that has not happened for a year, when they were leaders and champions in the 2021 Guardians.
The statistics favor the blue team, since the last time they lost as a visitor against the eagles, counting only regular season games, was in April 2018. However, América reaches the end of Clausura 2022 with a streak of six consecutive victories , the best of all Liga MX teams.
Neither of them depends on themselves to qualify directly for the league, since if Puebla and Atlas win their respective games against Mazatlán FC and Tigres they will be securing third and fourth place in the table; however, if they fall, América or Cruz Azul could take the opportunity to sneak in. Even a tie would be enough for America if the sweet potato growers and red and blacks don’t win their duels.
The capacity allowed for this match is 100% and it is estimated that it exceeds the 36,210 fans who entered on date 15 in the duel between América and León, which is the highest that the Azteca stadium has received between the games of the Eagles and the cement workers throughout 2022 (only counting Liga MX).
For this tournament closure, Cruz Azul recovered its starting goalkeeper and captain, Jesús Corona, who has been absent since matchday 10 due to bone edema in the femur of his right leg. For its part, América will suffer the loss of Colombian striker Roger Martínez, who accumulated five yellow cards in his last game against Tigres.
Cruz Azul also comes to this duel under the pressure of their fans, who fired them with boos in their last game of the tournament at home, when they fell 0-1 against Atlético de San Luis and signed their worst season at home since 2016 with five defeats. totals, for which his fans shouted “Juan Reynoso out!”, despite the fact that this is the coach who led them to the long-awaited title after a 23-year drought in the summer of 2021.
“(The boo) It’s normal for the club, because of the dimension of what Cruz Azul is, obviously we prefer that they continue to encourage and support us in those difficult times, try to spread it on the field so that they accompany us”, highlighted the Paraguayan Romero, who arrived as a cement reinforcement just in this tournament and has only collaborated with one goal in 628 minutes within Liga MX.
Both Americanists and Cruz Azulinos have already assured their presence in the postseason at least in the playoff stage, however, since this phase was established in the 2020 Guardians, America has always avoided it by qualifying among the best four and going directly to the quarterfinals end; Cruz Azul, for its part, has the recent history of having been eliminated by Rayados de Monterrey at the Azteca stadium by 1-4 in the 2021 Apertura reclassification.