The Liga MX season differs from other soccer leagues in that it consists of two different tournaments to choose champions. Prior to the regular season, the Apertura chooses the first champion, while the Clausura decides the second-half winner.
However, due to the pandemic, Liga MX has changed during the last year, resulting in a single final competition, the Guardianes. On Thursday, the first leg of the Guard1anes Final will take place between this season’s Liga powerhouse and a team who won the Clausura only a few years ago.
Cruz Azul enjoyed the best season in Liga MX this year, winning 22 of 34 games while losing only eight. They were equal with Club America at the top with 70 points, but their +22 goal differential propelled them to the top of the tables by the end of the season, earning them the number one seed in the tournament. Cruz Azul advanced to the final after defeating Toluca in the quarterfinals and Pachuca in the semifinals.
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Santos Laguna faced a slightly more difficult road. After placing sixth in Liga MX this year, they had to go through the classification phase to even make the quarterfinals. They accomplished this by overcoming Queretaro, then the defending Apertura winner Monterrey in the quarterfinals, and finally Puebla in the semifinals.
Santos won the Clausura in 2018, while Cruz Azul hasn’t won a competition since the original Invierno in 1997.
What: Guard1anes Final (First Leg)
Who: Cruz Azul vs. Santos Laguna
When: Thursday, May 27
Time: 10:00 p.m. ET
Where: Estadio Corona (Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico)
Channel: Fox Sports 2, FOX Deportes
Stream: FuboTV (7-day free trial)