Apertura 2026 matchday 11: Tigres beat leaders Toluca, América go back top and five draws are rescued late

Toluca started matchday 11 as leaders and finished it second: they lost 3–2 at Tigres on Friday, and América, who drew 1–1 with Monterrey, are back on top with 21 points and a match in hand. Querétaro beat Atlante 2–0 to draw level with Toluca on 20, also with a match in hand. The matchday brought 30 goals in nine matches and six draws, and five of those were settled in the last quarter of an hour: Puebla, Juárez, Guadalajara, Pachuca and Cruz Azul all equalised between the 84th and 87th minutes. There were only two home wins and one away win.

Friday

Puebla 1–1 León was levelled late. Ismael Díaz put León ahead on 42 from Diber Cambindo's pass, and Eduardo Armenta equalised for Puebla on 87 from Juan Pablo Vargas's. León's Jordi Cortizo was sent off for violent conduct on 90+1. Puebla had 18 shots, six on target.

Tigres 3–2 Toluca went to Tigres with 30 per cent of the ball. Juan Brunetta opened the scoring on 6 and Guillermo Martínez made it 2–0 on 38 from Emiliano Gómez's pass; João Paulo pulled one back for Toluca on 42 from Brian García's. Toluca's coach, Antonio Ricardo Mohamed Matijevich, was sent off on 45+4; according to El Informador it was for protesting about the refereeing, and on his way to the dressing room he held up his fingers to remind the Tigres fans of the finals he has won against them. Federico Viñas equalised on 54 from Helinho's pass, and Brunetta, from Fernando Gorriarán's, made it 3–2 on 60. Tigres had 13 shots on target; Toluca's goalkeeper made ten saves. Mohamed's assistant, Pablo Morant, told a press conference, according to Récord, that six goals conceded in two matches is too many for a team that aims to win the title.

Saturday

Querétaro 2–0 Atlante: Santiago Homenchenko scored a penalty on 25 and Denilson Muñoz added the second on 50 from Iker Benito Sánchez's pass. Atlante had nine shots on target and Querétaro's goalkeeper saved them all.

Juárez 1–1 Tijuana began with a penalty for Tijuana, confirmed by VAR, which Mourad El Ghezouani scored on 31. Rodrigo Dourado equalised for Juárez on 84 from Daniel Piña's pass, and a minute later Juárez's Javier Aquino was sent off.

Atlas 1–1 Guadalajara, the Clásico Tapatío at the Estadio Jalisco, ended level. Kevin Zenón put Atlas ahead on 52 from Paulo Ramírez's pass. Guadalajara were awarded a penalty after a VAR review, and Ángel Sepúlveda missed it on 76 (according to EFE, it was the 21st penalty Camilo Vargas has saved in Mexico), but Sepúlveda himself equalised on 86 from Brian Gutiérrez's pass. Kevin Castañeda, booked on 84, was sent off on 90+8. Guadalajara had twelve shots to Atlas's six.

América 1–1 Monterrey: Diego Rossi gave Monterrey the lead on 18 from Orbelín Pineda's pass and Santiago Bueno equalised on 45+4. América's Miguel Borja was shown a red card for violent conduct on 87 after VAR called the referee to the monitor: Récord says he went in studs-first on Carlos Salcedo after Salcedo had already cleared the ball. Guillermo Almada said Borja "se va a tener que adaptar al arbitraje mexicano" (will have to adapt to Mexican refereeing). América had eight shots on target to Monterrey's two, and Matías Almeyda said, according to El Universal, that "el punto está bien para los dos" (the point is fine for both).

Sunday

Atlético de San Luis 1–2 Santos Laguna was turned round by Santos Laguna. Óscar Macías put Atlético de San Luis ahead on 19 from Sébastien Salles-Lamonge's pass, and Tahiel Jiménez scored both Santos goals, on 34 from Ezequiel Bullaude's pass and on 64.

Pachuca 3–3 Necaxa looked like Necaxa's until the 84th minute. Matías Espíndola scored on 15 and set up Julián Carranza for the second on 41; Eduardo Dos Santos pulled one back for Pachuca on 45+8 from Oussama Idrissi's pass, and Juan Valencia made it 1–3 from the penalty spot on 79. Salomón Rondón then scored twice in three minutes, on 84 and 87, both from Rodolfo Pizarro's passes; EFE notes that the goals confirm him as the Apertura's top scorer, three days after he marked 20 years as a professional.

Pumas 3–3 Cruz Azul saw Pumas play with ten men from the 37th minute. Olávio Vieira, known as Juninho, scored on 10 from César Huerta's pass, and Huerta, from Juninho's, made it 2–0 on 16; booked on 26, Huerta was sent off on 37. Agustín Palavecino pulled one back for Cruz Azul on 45+3 from Jorge Rodarte's pass and Robert Morales made it 3–1 on 49. Andrés Montaño, on 64, and Osinachi Ebere, on 85 from Nicolás Ibáñez's pass, drew Cruz Azul level. Cruz Azul had 68 per cent of the ball and 29 shots. Their coach, Joel Huiqui, called the first half "desastroso" (disastrous), according to Excélsior, and warned that "nadie es indispensable" (nobody is indispensable).

The table after matchday 11

América, Querétaro, Tijuana and Monterrey have played ten matches, with their matchday 7 game still to come; the rest have played eleven. The top eight after matchday 17 go straight to the Liguilla.

1. América, 21 points (10 played, +11)
2. Toluca, 20 (11, +10)
3. Querétaro, 20 (10, +7)
4. Guadalajara, 19 (11, +7)
5. León, 18 (11, +3)
6. Atlas, 18 (11, −1)
7. Cruz Azul, 17 (11, +1)
8. Tijuana, 15 (10, +1)
9. Puebla, 15 (11, −1)
10. Monterrey, 14 (10, +2)

At the top, four teams are separated by two points: América lead on 21, one ahead of Toluca and Querétaro, and Guadalajara have 19. The points race shows Querétaro, who had seven points after matchday 5, collecting 13 in the six matchdays since, and América and Querétaro without points on matchday 7, the round of their match in hand. Tigres climb from 15th to 13th on 13 points, level with Pachuca, Pumas and Santos Laguna. Atlante (11), Necaxa (9) and Juárez (4) remain at the bottom.

Numbers to know

• 30 goals in nine matches, six of them from the 84th minute on.
• Six draws, two home wins and one away win.
• Five players sent off, plus Toluca's coach.
• Tigres had 13 shots on target with 30 per cent of the ball; Cruz Azul had 29 shots with 68 per cent.
• Querétaro have the best defence, with eight goals conceded; Juárez the worst, with 26.

Next up

Matchday 12 opens on Friday 16 October with Necaxa v Atlas (19:00 Mexico City time), then Tijuana v Puebla and Atlante v Pumas (21:00). On Saturday 17 October come Santos Laguna v Querétaro (17:00), Guadalajara v Tigres (17:07), León v América and Toluca v Atlético de San Luis (19:00), and Cruz Azul v Juárez (21:00). Monterrey v Pachuca closes the matchday on Sunday 18 October (19:00). The full table and the kick-off times are on the Liga MX page.

Sources for the context: EFE via Infobae, EFE via Infobae, Récord, Récord, Récord, El Universal, Excélsior, El Informador.