Goals, chaos and fierce rivalries: the LigaMX playoffs are a wonderful watch
T he Liga MX playoffs, better known as the Liguilla, kick off on Wednesday, running until a champion is crowned on 25 May. Whether this is your first time with the tournament or you're a diehard fan, there's reason to be excited. Here's everything you need to know about this year's version, starting with the most basic question there is. Why should I care?
Well, if you're one of the many millions in Mexico, the US and elsewhere that already know this competition, you probably already know. But for the uninitiated: As the Concacaf Champions Cup continually shows, Liga MX is the best league in the region. It boasts not only some familiar faces from international football, but also players who will be the stars of tomorrow - usually performing in full, vibrant stadiums, each with a long-established culture and history.
You won't be alone if you tune in. While US TV ratings aren't as strong as they were a few years ago compared to other competitions, Liga MX playoff matches still regularly draw one million viewers. Those are numbers that would turn plenty of heads for most leagues, but in the US they tend to be ignored because most of the viewers are watching in Spanish. You may not be watching yet, but your neighbor probably is.
It's popular for a reason: these games tend to be exciting. Matches become reminiscent of the NBA with one team attacking, then the other responding immediately with an attack of their own. Rinse, repeat and enjoy – though, fair warning, you likely will have to get past a bit of pushing and shoving, exaggeration, and excruciatingly long VAR decisions or discussions with the referee.
It all adds to the theater, and it's worth sticking with it and enjoy what is consistently one of soccer's best spectacles. What happened to Rodríguez and Ramos?
The last time the Guardian checked in on Mexico's most notable imports from Spain, things were going quite well. León were top of the league thanks to James Rodríguez's contributions, while excitement was building in Monterrey with Sergio Ramos set to bolster the back line. Sergio Ramos and James Rodríguez have brought star power to this season in Mexico. Photograph:The shine has come off both superstars in Liga MX, though they're still alive in their hunt for a brand new trophy to add to their resumes. Rodríguez was brought in partly to boost León in the Club World Cup, but Fifa announced in March that the club wouldn't be able to participate. That has led the team to challenge the ruling at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which is expected to rule on the matter this week.
The uncertainty seemed to unmoor León, who earned just four points in five matches after the decision came down. Rodríguez was sent off for a pair of yellow cards in the regular season finale, meaning he's suspended for the first leg of the quarter-final against Cruz Azul.
Monterrey narrowly made it into the final eight, beating Pumas 2-0 in a play-in match Sunday for the last spot. Ramos watched from a luxury box, as he missed his second match in a row because of a leg injury. Fellow Spaniards Sergio Canales and Oliver Torres entered as second-half substitutes after also missing a 2-1 loss to Pachuca in the previous play-in match with injuries of their own. Rayados may need Ramos fit to have any chance to stop high-scoring Toluca, but his status for the first leg is up in the air. Henry Martín lifted the Liga MX trophy at the end of last campaign, the Clausura 2024. Photograph: Eyepix Group/LightRocket/Getty Images Who is the favorite?
Mexico City giant Club América have won back-to-back-to-back titles, becoming the first team in the short tournament era to three-peat. So, yes, Las Aguilas are the favorites, and this team certainly have a target on their backs. Even without the championship streak, they are beloved by many and hated by even more. América's own fans relish the role of a villain, wearing shirts that say 'Odiame más' ('Hate me more.')
The pressure hasn't gotten to the club so long as Andre Jardine has been manager – the former Brazil U-23 boss has turned everything he's touched into gold since arriving in Mexico City.
This season, the club are arguably in better shape going into the Liguilla than they have been in past editions they have won. América have had to cope with injury absences in 2025, and occasionally struggled to finish after striker Henry Martín suffered an achilles injury, but that was nothing compared to the Apertura 2024. In that tournament, the most recently concluded, América missed nearly every key player for at least a few games and had to come through the play-in but still managed to win the title.
Ahead of a quarter-final series with Pachuca, Martín is healthy, and América will be able to lean on him, do-it-all midfielder Álvaro Fidalgo and Mexico No 1 goalkeeper Luis Malagón as they seek yet another league crown. skip past newsletter promotion
Sign up to Soccer with Jonathan Wilson
Jonathan Wilson brings expert analysis on the biggest stories from European soccer Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
after newsletter promotion
While América have been dominant in league play, Cruz Azul ended Las Aguilas' hopes of a continental championship, beating the fellow Mexico City club in the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup. The teams have clashed in each of the past two playoffs, with América squeezing past La Maquina both times. Cruz Azul's last loss came all the way back in February, seeming to pave the road to another showdown between so-called 'grandes' – any of Mexico's big four clubs that are historically the most successful and best-supported. Who can play spoiler?
While América may be the favorite, Toluca goes into the postseason as the No 1 seed after dropping just two matches in the regular season.
Toluca are a high-octane team, with Portuguese striker Paulinho leading the line with a league-high 12 goals plus another nine (plus eight assists) from Alexis Vega. Toluca scored 41 goals in 17 matches this year, five more than any other Liga MX team and good for a 2.41 goals-per-game average. They'll concede a few goals, sure, and they fell short after a similarly explosive regular season in the Apertura a few months ago, but Toluca look like a serious competitor for the trophy this time around.
Necaxa could also surprise some people, with a similar all-attack strategy as Toluca (though not quite as good). The team's star-studded ownership group includes Hollywood stars like Eva Longoria, Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, and others like Mesut Özil, Shawn Marion and Justin Verlander. In the best season since foreign investment arrived in 2021, Necaxa racked up 36 goals and finished fifth place as manager Nicolaás Larcamón guided the team to 10 wins in his first campaign.
Their reward is a series with Tigres, led by a manager, Guido Pizarro, who was playing for the team as recently as this season before being tapped for coaching duties. Striker Andre-Pierre Gignac had been this team's talisman for years, but the 39-year-old is finally feeling his age, suffering injuries that allowed him to play just 78 minutes of the regular season and kept him out of the Concacaf Champions Cup entirely.
With fans frustrated at Tigres' CCC exit, a Gignac return would be welcome against a Necaxa team who are the Liguilla's dark horse. How can I watch?
While some of Liga MX's quirks lend charm, its television rights are still negotiated on a team-by-team basis. Univision and its sports network TUDN have the US broadcast rights for the majority of teams in the postseason.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
.jpeg%3Fwidth%3D1200%26auto%3Dwebp%26quality%3D75&w=3840&q=100)
Evening Standard
an hour ago
- Evening Standard
Transfer news LIVE! Arsenal FC learn Sesko twist; Wirtz medical; Man Utd have Osimhen plan; Chelsea latest
Chelsea are currently focusing on their first Club World Cup game, against LAFC on Sunday, but are expected to soon revive interest in Mike Maignan and Jamie Gittens after failed attempts to snap them up before the first summer deadline. Manchester City got deals for Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reijnders over the line. Tottenham are set to announce Thomas Frank as their new manager imminently. Follow the latest transfer news, rumours and gossip live below!
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
F1 has a growing problem as serving FIA steward brands driver 'a disaster'
In a period when routinely, on social media, accusations of bias in Formula 1 are slung around with abandon, the FIA really isn't helping itself. On the face of it, the appointment of Derek Warwick as one of the stewards on duty at this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix is a normal, entirely uninteresting decision. He's more than qualified for the role. Warwick is a veteran of 147 F1 race starts from his own racing career and has been a regular driver steward for many years now. Aged 70, the Brit is one of the most respected people in the F1 paddock whenever he pays a visit. But something has changed in recent times which should raise questions over whether he remains a viable candidate for a stewarding role – his latest media work. Specifically, Warwick is involved with a PR company which supplies quotes from famous names with credit to various gambling companies. One such set of quotes, attributed to Warwick, was sent around this week. In it, he opined that Lando Norris needs to stop making "silly mistakes" if he is to beat Oscar Piastri to the title, claimed Lance Stroll is a better driver than people give him credit for and said Yuki Tsunoda has "had a disaster" since joining the main Red Bull team. In another email, sent earlier this week, quotes attributed to Warwick said Max Verstappen was "absolutely wrong" to drive into George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix and that people are "probably right" to suggest that the Dutchman should have been suspended for his actions. Of course, he is entitled to all of those opinions as a person and many will agree with him on some of those topics. But should he be sharing them in public, given he has the power in his hands when on duty as an FIA steward to hand out punishments to drivers for their actions on track – penalties that could be called into doubt based on his personal views? Well, based on the FIA's own example, he shouldn't. While Warwick remains an active F1 steward, having last served at the Miami Grand Prix in May and been selected for this weekend's event in Montreal, Johnny Herbert was cut from the governing body's pool in January. Explaining that decision at the time, the FIA said Herbert is "is widely respected and brought invaluable experience and expertise to his role... [but] his duties as an FIA steward and that of a media pundit were incompatible". Warwick too is widely respected and vastly experienced, but why is he allowed to continue to work in the role? Formula 1 fans can watch every practice, qualifying and race live with Sky's new Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle in a new deal that saves £192. As well as Sky Sports access, this includes more than 100 TV channels and free subscriptions to Netflix and Discovery+. To be clear, there is no reason whatsoever to suggest that Warwick or any active FIA steward would allow their personal opinions to affect their decision making. But the problem is that some people WILL make that accusation and, when an active steward is out there publicly criticising drivers, it's not a good look. Verstappen is one penalty point away from a race ban heading into this weekend's Montreal race. If Warwick is on the stewarding panel which hands him the punishment which triggers that ban, you can easily imagine what the reaction will be from fans of the Dutchman and of Red Bull – perhaps even the driver and team themselves. And it will be a problem for the FIA entirely of its own making.
Leader Live
2 hours ago
- Leader Live
Thursday's briefing: Bellingham upsets Tuchel's mother with behaviour
Harry Kane called on England to learn from their chastening 3-1 defeat to Senegal. Jack Grealish has been left out of Manchester City's squad for the upcoming Club World Cup. Thomas Tuchel said he loves Jude Bellingham's 'fire' but England's head coach revealed his mother finds some of the midfielder's on-field antics 'repulsive'. The 21-year-old was angry with officials on Tuesday after his equaliser against Senegal was ruled out following a contentious VAR intervention for a handball by Levi Colwill. The midfielder kicked a water cooler after the 3-1 loss and the following day Tuchel made some extraordinary remarks about him in an interview with talkSPORT. Put to the head coach that some fans think England would be better off without Bellingham, he said: 'I struggle to see that. 'I think it has to be the other way around – how we can have the best version of him and the best acceptance, that people understand what he is bringing to us and that he is bringing a certain edge. 'But I see that it can create mixed emotions. I see this with my parents, with my mum, that she sometimes cannot see the nice and well-educated and well-behaved guy that I see. 'If he smiles, he wins everyone. But sometimes you see the rage, you see the hunger and the rage and the fire, and it comes out in a way that can be a bit repulsive, for example, for my mother, when she sits in front of the TV.' Harry Kane meanwhile insisted England can use their 3-1 defeat to Senegal on Tuesday to 'learn and appreciate' the level they need to reach. The 31-year-old got England off to a flying start when he turned home from close range in the seventh minute for his 73rd goal for his country. However, Ismaila Sarr's equaliser five minutes before the break shifted the momentum before second-half strikes from Habib Diarra and Cheikh Sabaly earned Senegal victory and handed Thomas Tuchel his first defeat as England boss. England thought that they had equalised to make it 2-2 but Bellingham's effort was ruled out following a lengthy VAR check after the ball seemingly came off Colwill's arm from a set-piece. Kane was upset with some of the officiating at the City Ground, but felt defeat may not be a bad thing for a team that is trying to learn from a new boss. He said: 'It might feel a bit different but sometimes nights like tonight are not a terrible thing… to learn and appreciate how hard it is to win against any team.' Jack Grealish has been left out of Manchester City's squad for the Club World Cup. The England international was not included in the 27-man travelling party published by the Premier League club on Wednesday. The 29-year-old's omission had been widely anticipated and will raise further doubts over his future at the Etihad Stadium. The midfielder, signed for £100million from Aston Villa four years ago, has fallen down the pecking order at City since playing a starring role in their treble success of 2023. He made just seven Premier League starts in the 2024-25 campaign and was notably not summoned from the bench as City went down to a 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final last month. He was then left out of the matchday squad for the final Premier League game of the season at Fulham altogether. With City's overhaul of the squad continuing apace with four new signings this week, there is growing speculation Grealish could leave. He has been linked with a number of clubs in England and in Europe. Good vibes ahead of the #U21EURO! 😁 Final prep for tomorrow's game against Czechia for our #YoungLions 👊 — England (@England) June 11, 2025 England under-21s begin their European Championship defence against the Czech Republic in Slovakia. Lee Carsley's side beat Spain two years ago win the title for a third time. Germany and the Netherlands are also among the teams to get their campaigns underway.
