This week’s Americas Football Round-Up has headlines from Liga MX, MLS and more as leagues across the Americas region are in full swing at this point in the calendar year. As always, here is your recap of recent headlines.
Gilberto Mora Shines in Tijuana’s Win over Cruz Azul
He doesn’t turn 18 until October, but teenage star Gilberto Mora is performing as a new star #10 for both club and country. After an excellent World Cup with El Tri, Mora returned to the club that developed him, Tijuana Xolos in Liga MX. The typically mid table side from Mexico’s largest border city is, after four games, joint top of the table with Club America, in large part due to Mora’s performances. Mora converted a penalty to beat Leon in July, on Sunday against Cruz Azul in the curtain closer for the Liga MX matchday it was Mora alone carrying his team to an upset victory in front of home fans.
At Estadio Caliente, Mora scored and assisted in Tijuana’s other goal, for a 2-1 win over the defending Liga MX champions Cruz Azul. For the 81 minutes he was on the field, Mora had the crowd captivated and was the player that Cruz Azul couldn’t keep locked down. The next three games for Xolos will determine if they are contenders or pretenders, Chivas away, Pumas, at home and Club America at Estadio Azteca are what’s next for Mora and his teammates.
Copa Libertadores Round of 16 Evenly Poised After First Legs
All seven Copa Libertadores round of 16 clashes ended in draws last week (the 8th was a postponed match between Deportes Tolima from Colombia and Ecuadorian champions Independiente del Valle due to the earthquake in Colombia). As a result, there’s everything to play for when quarterfinal spots are on the line. The Corinthians vs Rosario Central clash was chippy and physical, ending scoreless in Argentina, as the Brazilian side will now host.
LDU Quito hosts Mirassol, Palmeiras travels to Paraguay to face Cerro Porteno, Fluminense travels to Argentina to play Independiente Rivadavia, Estudiantes takes on Universidad Catolica, Platense takes on Chilean champions Coquimbo Unido, and it’s an all Brazil clash at the Maracano with Cruzeiro taking on hosts Flamengo.
In the Copa Sudamericana round of 16, Cienciano from Peru stunned Botafogo of Brazil 6-1 and has surely locked up that result. Sao Paulo got a 1-1 result against Bolivar, Boca Juniors are leading 3-1 over Recoleta, Tigre leads Torque 1-0, Vasco da Gama and Olimpia drew scoreless, Neymar and Santos leads 2-1 over Macara, and Atletico Mineiro are leading 1-0 over RB Bragantino.
The River Plate vs Santa Fe tie was also postponed due to Colombia’s earthquake and gets underway this week.
Flamengo Tightens Points Table Deficit with Palmeiras in Brasileiro
The Brasileiro title race in Brazil just got compelling again, Flamengo are on 45 points after 22 games, that’s a game in hand, but 3 points behind Palmeiras who are on 48 points. The third contender at this moment is Athletico Paranaense who are on 41 points.
The richest club in Brazil, Flamengo rolled past Mirassol 5-1 on the weekend and won their other match in August as well. Pedro Guilherme has scored 14 goals in the league this season. Due to a quirk in scheduling, Flamengo will play Cruzeiro twice in a row, first in the Libertadores second leg, and then in the league this weekend.
Palmeiras lost an exciting clash against Fluminense 3-2 on the weekend conceding twice in the last 10 minutes of the match. They are now winless in their last four matches across competitions, though the talent remains with players like Colombian international Jhon Arias donning the green jersey.
Nashville SC Pummels Inter Miami to take MLS Supporters Shield Lead
Nashville SC became the only MLS team to clear 40 points after 19 games and they lead the supporter’s shield. The southern US side pummeled Inter Miami at home on Saturday, winning 4-1 as defensive and goalkeeping errors were costly for the Herons. Hany Mukhtar scored twice for Nashville, and they outshot Inter Miami 16-9.
The result puts Nashville and manager B.J. Callaghan five points clear of Miami in the MLS Supporters Shield race. With Vancouver Whitecaps and Houston Dynamo the other two MLS sides to win at least 11 games to this point in the season.
Breel Embolo and Alexis Sanchez Joining MLS
Atlanta United are near the bottom of the MLS standings once again, but that hasn’t stopped the club from being ambitious in the transfer market. Swiss international Breel Embolo is set to sign as the new DP for Atlanta. Embolo will instantly become one of the marquee strikers in MLS, alongside Robert Lewandowski in Chicago, Sam Surridge in Nashville, Kevin Denkey in Cincinnati and Croatian international Petar Musa in Dallas.
Atlanta are currently 9 points out of a playoff position in the MLS Eastern Conference, with a disappointing 4-3-12 record on the season. Embolo, 29, last played in Ligue 1 with Stade Rennais, scoring 10 goals in 34 games.
Quebec’s Chilean community came out in force to welcome Chilean national hero Alexis Sanchez to CF Montreal this past week. Sanchez, now 37, opted to become a designated player in MLS rather than return to his native country and join the Chilean league again. In addition to leading Chile to Copa America titles and the World Cup in 168 appearances for his country, Sanchez played for some of the world’s biggest clubs, including Barcelona, Arsenal, Manchester United, Inter MIlan and Marseille. Most recently he was with Sevilla in Spain.
The creative Sanchez has proven to be a durable player, he played 33 games with Inter Milan in 23-24, and despite playing just 14 for Udinese in 24-25 and dealing with injuries, he came back to appear 30 times for Sevilla in 25-26, with six goal contributions.
CF Montreal are another side currently sitting outside of the MLS playoff picture, in recent years the club has faced rumors of possible relocation and they are generally not above the top spending sides in the competition.
Main Photo Credit: Smartframe Images
Leave a Reply