MEXICO CITY. Cruz Azul defeats Mazatlán with a 2-0 win with a goal from G. Carneiro (21′) and a penalty scored by A. Romero (45′). Cruz Azul took advantage of its superior ball possession (58%).

The match was played at the Estadio Azteca stadium in Mexico City on Sunday and it started at 4:00 pm local time. The referee was César Arturo Ramos Palazuelos who had the assistance of Alberto Morín Méndez and Miguel Ángel Hernández Paredes. The 4th official was Hector Salvador Solorio Arreola. The weather was cloudy. The temperature was pleasant at 24 degrees Celsius or 75.13 Fahrenheit. The humidity was 29%.​

Match Statistics​

Ball possession

Cruz Azul was in firm control of the ball 58% while Mazatlán was struggling with a 42% ball possession.

Attitude and shots

Cruz Azul was putting more pressure with 36 dangerous attacks and 20 shots of which 5 were on target. This is one of the reasons why Cruz Azul won the match​.

Cruz Azul shot 20 times, 5 on target, 15 off target. Talking about the opposition, Mazatlán shot 3 times, 0 on target, 3 off target.

Cards

Cruz Azul didn’t receive any yellow card. On the other side, Mazatlán received 1 yellow card (B. Colula).

Also, Mazatlán didn’t finish the match with 11 players after R. Sandoval (Mazatlán) was sent off after receiving a straight red card in the (36′).

Standings

After this encounter, Cruz Azul will have 15 points like Mazatlán, Atlético San Luis and Tijuana to drop in the 13th place. Regarding the opposition, Mazatlán will stay with 15 points like Atlético San Luis, Tijuana and Cruz Azul to gain in the 12th place.

Next matches

In the next match in the Liga MX, Cruz Azul will host Guadalajara on the 2nd of October with a 11-9 head to head record in favor of Cruz Azul (16 draws).

Mazatlán will play away agasint Santos Laguna on the 2nd of October with a 2-1 head to head statistic in favor of Santos Laguna (1 draw).

Cruz Azul – Formation

Cruz Azul adopted the 4-2-3-1 line-up (4-2-3-1).

The manager Raul Erasto Jacobo Gutierrez decided to play with the following team: Jesús Corona (6.7), Rodrigo Huescas (6.7), Rafael Guerrero (6.5), Ramiro Funes Mori (7.0), Jaiber Jiménez (6.8), Erik Lira (7.1), José Rivero (7.2), Uriel Antuna (6.8), Carlos Rodríguez (7.1), Ángel Romero (8.3) and Gonzalo Carneiro (8.0).

The home team had on the bench: Michael Estrada, Rafael Baca (6.5), Christian Tabó, Julio César Domínguez (6.2), Cristian Jimenez, Iván Morales (6.6), Alejandro Mayorga, Alonso Escoboza, Jorge Luis García Rivas and Andrés Gudiño.

Cruz Azul could not rely on the presence of J. Dominguez (injured) and A. Escoboza (injured).

Substitutions

Cruz Azul made 5 changes: G. Carneiro for I. Morales (75′), I. Rivero for R. Baca (75′), R. Mori for J. Dominguez (79′), A. Romero for C. Tabo (89′) and J. Jimenez for A. Escoboza (89′).

Best player: Ángel Romero​

Following our analysis, the most impressive player for Cruz Azul was Ángel Romero.

His rating is (8.3) with 1 goal, 52 passes (75% accurate) and 2 key passes. He was won 6 duels out of 8. He performed 6 crosses.

Mazatlán – Formation

Also Mazatlán adopted the 4-2-3-1 line-up (4-2-3-1).

Gabriel Esteban Caballero Schiker played with: Nicolás Vikonis (6.3), Bryan Colula (6.5), Néstor Vidrio (6.6), Jorge Meré (6.0), Raúl Sandoval (5.0), Roberto Meraz (6.1), Jefferson Intriago (6.6), Eduard Bello (6.1), Nicolás Benedetti (6.5), Yoel Bárcenas (6.6) and Brian Rubio (6.8).

These were the players on the bench: Efrain Orona (6.6), Jorge Antonio Padilla Leal, Alfonso Sánchez (6.6), Andres Montaño, Gonzalo Sosa, Ricardo Gutierrez (6.8), Oswaldo Alanís, Carlos Vargas (7.2), Miguel Sansores and Josué Colmán (6.2).

Mazatlán could not rely on the presence of R. Gutierrez (injured).

Substitutions

Mazatlán made 5 changes: N. Vikonis for R. Gutierrez (46′), J. Mere for E. Orona (46′), E. Bello for C. Vargas (46′), N. Benedetti for D. J. Colman Escobar (68′) and B. Rubio for A. Sanchez (68′).

Best player: Carlos Vargas​

As per our analysis, the most impressive player for Mazatlán was Carlos Vargas.

His rating is (7.2) with 14 passes (64% accurate) and 1 key pass. He was won 2 duels out of 2. He performed 1 cross.

His performance was remarkable also because he started the match from the bench before entering the filed in the 46′.

Results of the day

These are the results of the day in the Liga MX.​

• Atlas – Atlético San Luis – 1-3
• Cruz Azul – Mazatlán – 2-0
• Guadalajara – Puebla – 1-0
• Toluca – Pumas UNAM – 2-2
• Tigres UANL – León – 0-1
• Necaxa – América – 1-2