You probably know that Dayro Moreno is the top scorer this season, and may also know Chiapas are the league’s lowest scorers, but to fully assess the season so far, some of the less talked about statistics have to be acknowledged. With that in mind, Fut Mex Nation’s Tom Harrison decided to put together a list of ten Liga MX stats you probably didn’t know. Read, share and impress your mates with your Liga MX knowledge!
Morelia are the only team yet to keep a clean sheet this season
Enrique Meza’s team almost did last weekend, but conceded right at the death to Jonathan Cristaldo’s tap in. Only Pachuca have scored more than Morelia this season, but La Monarquía have the worst defence in the league, harming their liguilla, and survival from relegation, hopes. Late goals have been a major issue, with Morelia conceding nine from the 76th minute onwards.
Monterrey have scored the most headed goals in the league
With seven headed goals, Monterrey lead the way in this aspect, despite struggling for much of this season. Pumas and Morelia are just behind Los Rayados with six, whilst Tigres are yet to score a header in the Apertura.
Chiapas are the least efficient side in front of goal
Unsurprisingly, the league’s lowest scorers are the least effective team at turning shots into goals. On average it’s taking Chiapas a remarkable 24.3 shots for Los Jaguares to find the back of the net. Tijuana and Pachuca have been more than three times more efficient in front of goal this campaign.
León are the only team to have completed less than 70% of their passes
León have the lowest pass completion percentage this Apertura. At 68.4%, they are almost two percentage points behind the next lowest ranked side, Querétaro. Perhaps the more vertical, more direct playing style adopted by Javier Torrente since he took over is the main factor behind this statistic. As expected, the only team to have completed over 80% of their passes this season is Tigres.
The top three ranked by passing accuracy have won the least free-kicks in midfield and attack
Tigres, Chivas and Morelia are the only three sides that have completed over 79% of their passes this season. Intriguingly, they are also the only three teams to have won less than 60 free-kicks in midfield and attack. This may just be a coincidence, but there could be an explanation behind this statistical phenomenon.
Completing a large percentage of passes suggests that often the simple, safe option is taken when Tigres, Chivas and Morelia have possession. Free-kicks aren’t won by playing safe passes, they’re won by taking risks, and attempting dribbles past opponents. This may also explain why Tijuana, who possess fantastic dribblers in Avilés Hurtado, Dayro Moreno and Gabriel Hauche, lead the free-kicks chart.
Tigres’ cautious passing style may be leading to few free-kicks being won
Veracruz have given away 14 more free-kicks in midfield and attack than second ranked León
It’s no surprise that the team with the most red cards this season, seven, have also given away more free-kicks in midfield and attack than any other team. Ill-discipline has proved Pablo Marini’s downfall during his spell in Mexico thus far, with both his Puebla and Veracruz sides spending far too much time with ten men. Cutting down on the number of free-kicks Los Tiburones Rojos give away, and the number of red cards that they receive, should be an aim of Carlos Reinoso’s.
Chivas have made more sprints than any other side
Chivas players have made a total of 3,424 sprints this season, 112 more than second ranked Toluca. This shows that Matías Almeyda has gotten his players working hard, and hints that Chivas press more than other Liga MX teams. Cruz Azul have made the lowest number of sprints in the Apertura, 2,658, perhaps contributing to their struggles.
All teams are ranked within ten percent of each other on total distance recorded
Despite quite a large discrepancy between the total number of sprints each side has completed, there isn’t much difference in total distance recorded. The leaders in terms of ground covered are Atlas, with 1,392.9km recorded.
No goals have been scored during the first 15 minutes of any Querétaro games
Don’t worry about turning on a Querétaro game a few minutes late, the chances are you won’t miss a goal. Los Gallos Blancos have neither scored nor conceded during the first 15 minutes of any Liga MX game this Apertura. Make sure you’re on time for Monterrey matches though, nine goals have been scored during the first 15 minutes of their games.
Monterrey, Atlas, Cruz Azul, Veracruz and Santos haven’t scored from outside of the box
One team on that list sticks out, Monterrey. Los Rayados have a number of good ball strikers from distance, and the likes of Dorlan Pabón and Edwin Cardona regularly take long-shots. Monterrey have taken more shots on goal than anyone else this Apertura, hinting at their favour for long-shots. However, they are yet to find the back of the net from outside of the box this campaign, and Turco Mohamed should perhaps attempt to reduce the number of long-shots taken.
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