A double jornada came and went for Liga MX Femenil. The matches are continuing to suprise, with even the lower level duels providing their own form of excitement. Still, it’s all about who can secure that ticket to the next round and where we go with the ongoing troubles we continue to face. Here are my big takeaways from Weeks 10 & 11:
Liguilla qualifications have already begun to be set. Even with exactly one month to go before the Liguilla starts, some teams have officially marked their place in the postseason: Tigres, Rayadas, Atlas and Chivas. I spoke a little bit about it during the latest Our Futbol podcast but it’s quite remarkable what Atlas has been able to do in the last few weeks. While Tigres, Rayadas and Chivas claimed dominance and high expectations from early on, Atlas went from losing dramatically against Cruz Azul to going undefeated in the last nine weeks of play. Even their match against San Luis which started off with a conceded goal ended showing their tenacity and the powerful asset they possess with Alison Gonzalez up top. The seedings are still left to fight for throughout the remainder of the season but these four teams will have fans of the league looking forward to those elimination rounds.
Chivas is now entering roller coaster territory. They’ve secured their spot in the Liguilla but since that devastating loss against Atlas, the tides have changed for Chivas. They managed to secure the three points against Leon with a 2-0 victory that picked up later in the match but the draw against San Luis proved to be more troubling when one looks at long-term objectives. The draw also bumped them out of the top 3 and allowed for Atlas’ good form to move them up the standings, a rough representation of what could happen in the postseason. Still, Chore Mejia firmly believes in his players and has completed all of his team’s youth minutes requirements, leaving the next five weeks of matches free for him to be his strongest available. And with two weeks break thanks to the FIFA dates, Chivas will be able to return with their best foot forward and showing everyone what to expect in the Liguilla.
We keep being reminded of what the world thinks of us. I would love to do nothing more than spend time talking about Liguilla predictions and upcoming Clasicos to look forward to but for every moment we spend talking about that, we’re reminded about the extra work we have to put in to feel as if people genuinely care. Last week, my dear friend and Our Futbol Podcast co-host Adriana Terrazas released an article for TUDN stating that in order to limit the travel expenses for the team, Necaxa Femenil players were subject to only four hours of rest and were forced to bunk five players to a room. The match was set to be played at noon local time, with the team leaving at 9 PM the night before and arriving in Puebla at 4 AM. This isn’t the first time the Necaxa organization has done this to players–the exact thing happened one year ago in their match against America—and while it always is unfortunate to hear these types of stories, it’s especially hard to hear about during a pandemic when social distancing is encouraged. Between this, the Chivas-Leon match not being transmitted and the incident with Sian Massey-Ellis involving Sergio Aguero over the weekend, it’s tiring to deal with fighting the good fight.
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