Tigres got a 1-1 tie at home against Cruz Azul that gave them the ticket to the 2025 Apertura Liga MX final. Tigres took advantage of their better position in the standings and their tie in the first leg to be the better side over a Cruz Azul that lacked ideas on the offense after going in with a strange starting 11. Tigres will now face off against Toluca in the Liga MX final where they will host the first leg and close out away in Toluca.
The 1st half started with Tigres coming out with Andre Pierre
Gignac up top to take the place of the injured Nicolas Ibañez. Cruz Azul came out with a strange lineup including leaving starters like Jose Paradela and Carlos Rodriguez on the bench. From outside the area, Omar Campos got off a left footed shot that forced Tigres’ goalkeeper, Nahuel Guzman, to make a save. Off a long ball attack, Angel Correa would get the ball and give a thru pass that Juan Brunetta would get to and then get off a left footed shot from close range that would go wide in a bad miss. While Cruz Azul was trying for that goal they needed but Tigres handled them well. A cross into the area was brilliantly back heeled back by Gignac, right to Juan Brunetta, who got off a right footed shot past Cruz Azul’s goalkeeper, Andres Gudiño to score and give Tigres the 1-0 lead. It was a great combination goal that gave Tigres a huge boost and now forced Cruz Azul to score twice if they wanted to play in the final. A long ball pass would find Ignacio Rivero, whose lobbed shot was blocked by Guzman although the play was incorrectly ruled offside. A cross into the area was headed by Gabriel Fernandez but Guzman was able to get to the ball. From outside the area, Lorenzo Faravelli would get off a right footed shot that would go just wide. The halftime whistle blew and Tigres would take the lead that had them thru to the final to their dressing room.
The 2nd half started with surprisingly not substitutions from Cruz Azul. Tigres started the 2nd half a lot better as Cruz Azul couldn’t get the ball back. Cruz Azul subbed out Angel Sepulveda and Lorenzo Faravelli for Carlos Rodriguez and Jose Paradela. A cross into the area was headed back by Romulo Zwarg but Gudiño got the ball off his head. Tigres subbed out Andre Pierre Gignac and Jesus Alberto Angulo for Ozziel Herrera and Jose Sanchez Purata. Cruz Azul subbed out Gonzalo Piovi and Carlos Rotondi for Jesus Orozco and Amaury Morales. After a cross into the area, Fernandez fell and looked to have been fouled by Zwarg. After going to VAR, the referee decided to give Cruz Azul a Penalty Kick. Fernandez stepped up to take the PK but his right footed shot was blocked by Guzman and then clear. The missed PK look like it might have doomed Cruz Azul as Tigres regained the momentum. Cruz Azul subbed out Jeremy Marquez for Luka Romero. Tigres subbed out Juan Brunetta for Juan Pablo Vigon. A good cross from Jesus Garza was just missed by Marco Farfan, who would have had a great chance had he gotten to it. A good cross into the area would be headed by Fernandez from close range but Guzman was right there to save it. After getting into the area, a shot by Correa was deflected by Orozco who had a terrible accidental injury on the play. Players from both sides held their heads as they looked on and Orozco had to be carted off the field, leaving Cruz Azul with 10 players as they had no more substitutions left. It was a terrible injury that could be career impacting especially 6 months before the World Cup. A great combination play ended with Paradela making a great pass to Rodriguez, who got into the area but his right footed shot went just wide. After the ball was left in the area, Correa got off a left footed shot from close range that went wide. A cross into the area by Romero was deflected by Jose Sanchez Purata past Guzman and into the net to score and tie the match at 1-1. Against the run of play and with only two minutes left, Cruz Azul now was one goal from getting thru to the final. Unfortunately for them, they didn’t have enough time and Tigres held on for the tie that got them to another Liga MX final.
Tigres managed to get the tie that they needed to go thru to the 2025 Apertura final. Tigres was the better side in the 180 minutes and deserved to go thru yet they are bad signs for them going in to the final. Tigres didn’t win either match against Cruz Azul and they ended up tied with a Cruz Azul side that had been left with 10 players. In the 2nd half, they failed to create much chances and although they had more control of the match, Cruz Azul had more dangerous chances as Cruz Azul’s goalkeeper didn’t need to make many saves. Still they will face a Toluca side that also struggled in their seminal series. Yet the fact that they will now close out the series away in Toluca as opposed to their two previous series, means they will come in as the slight underdogs. Cruz Azul ends their season in disappointment, just days traveling to Qatar to face off against Flamengo in the Derby de las Americas Cup. Cruz Azul will represent CONCACAF while Flamengo represent CONMEBOL, a week after winning Copa Libertadores. They will go thru as heavy underdogs and they now have the huge hit that is the possible serious injury by Jesus Orozco. Things don’t look good for Cruz Azul as to repeat the performance that Pachuca had in 2024, where they won the Derby de las Americas and FIFA Challenger Cup. Meanwhile in Mexico, Tigres will have a least daunting task against Toluca but it will be battle as they hope to get their first title since the Clausura 2023.
