Apertura 2026 matchday 14: Pachuca win at América, Cruz Azul and Guadalajara move within a point

Pachuca won 2–1 at América on Sunday, with Salomón Rondón setting up the winner, and América, the leaders, stayed on 27 points. Cruz Azul, who won 3–1 at Querétaro, and Guadalajara, who won 1–0 at Monterrey, are a point behind on 26, although América have a match in hand. Atlas beat Puebla 4–3 and are fourth, and Tijuana thrashed Santos Laguna 4–1. The matchday produced 27 goals in nine matches: two home wins, four away wins and three draws, two players sent off and three penalties missed.

Friday

Necaxa 1–1 Juárez opened the matchday in Aguascalientes. Owen González put Necaxa ahead on 26 and Julián Carranza missed a penalty on 45+7. Luca Dupuy equalised for Juárez on 81 from Daniel Piña's pass. Juárez had 24 shots, four of them on target, and remain bottom with five points.

Atlante 0–1 Atlético de San Luis went to Atlético de San Luis through a Benjamín Galdames goal on 59, from Felipe Mora's pass. Atlante had 21 shots, nine of them on target, and the San Luis goalkeeper made nine saves; Walter Clar missed a penalty on 90+4.

Saturday

León 1–1 Toluca was settled in the first half. José Alvarado put León ahead on 12 from Ismael Díaz's pass and Federico Viñas equalised for Toluca on 44 from Jorge Díaz's. Toluca had 61 per cent of the ball; León had seven shots on target. Toluca have now gone six matches without a win.

Monterrey 0–1 Guadalajara was decided by Roberto Alvarado on 9, from Santiago Sandoval's pass, after poor play out from the back by Monterrey, according to Milenio. Lucas Ocampos missed a penalty on 19: Raúl Rangel saved it, and Milenio notes it was Ocampos's second missed penalty in a row. Orbelín Pineda was sent off on 90 for stopping a counter-attack as the last man, and in stoppage time VAR ruled out a Diego Rossi equaliser for an apparent handball. Milenio reports that Matías Almeyda was also sent off for protesting to the referee. Monterrey had 62 per cent of the ball; Guadalajara had seven shots on target.

Pumas 1–1 Tigres was decided in the second half. Robert Morales put Pumas ahead on 56 from Pablo Bennevendo's pass, and Juan Brunetta equalised for Tigres on 76. Tigres had eight shots on target and Pumas three; the Pumas goalkeeper made seven saves.

Sunday

Atlas 4–3 Puebla produced seven goals. Florián Monzón put Atlas ahead on 1 from Jorge Rodríguez's pass, Luis Hernández equalised on 20 and a Jorge Sánchez own goal put Puebla in front on 60. Kevin Zenón equalised on 63 from Luis Esteves's pass, and José Martín scored on 68 from Zenón's pass and on 79 from Esteves's. Alonso Ramírez was sent off on 78, and Omar Moreno pulled one back on 84 from Alejandro Organista's pass. According to El Informador, Martín came off the bench and scored his first goal in the top flight; his second was a header from an Esteves free kick.

Querétaro 1–3 Cruz Azul was settled before half-time. Andrés Montaño scored a penalty on 19, after a VAR review, and Mateo Coronel equalised for Querétaro on 33 from Iker Benito Sánchez's pass. Nicolás Ibáñez, on 44 from Jesús Orozco's pass, and Osinachi Ebere, on 45+2 from Montaño's, turned it round. Fox Sports puts the penalty down to a handball by Enzo Giménez. Cruz Azul have won three in a row; Querétaro have lost three in a row.

América 1–2 Pachuca started badly for the leaders: Alan Bautista put Pachuca ahead on 12. Henry Martín equalised on 46 from Erick Sánchez's pass, but Oussama Idrissi made it 1–2 on 74 from Rondón's. América had 59 per cent of the ball and 20 shots, seven of them on target, and the Pachuca goalkeeper made six saves. According to EFE, Rondón has 13 goals in the tournament, five more than his nearest challengers.

Tijuana 4–1 Santos Laguna closed the matchday. Francisco González opened the scoring on 13 from Adonis Preciado's pass and José Rivero made it 2–0 on 18. Esteban Lozano pulled one back for Santos on 66 from Ezequiel Bullaude's pass, but Rivero, on 69, and Preciado, on 72 from Jesús Vega's pass, completed the rout. Tijuana had seven shots on target; Santos three.

The table after matchday 14

América, Monterrey, Tijuana and Querétaro have played 13 matches, with their matchday 7 game still to come; the rest have played 14. The top eight after matchday 17 go straight to the Liguilla, and there is no relegation this season.

1. América, 27 points (13 played, +15)
2. Cruz Azul, 26 (14, +9)
3. Guadalajara, 26 (14, +9)
4. Atlas, 24 (14, −1)
5. Toluca, 23 (14, +10)
6. León, 22 (14, +3)
7. Monterrey, 20 (13, +5)
8. Tijuana, 20 (13, +4)
9. Querétaro, 20 (13, −1)
10. Santos Laguna, 19 (14, 0)

The race for first place has tightened: after matchday 13 América were four points clear of Cruz Azul and Guadalajara, and now the gap is just one. Cruz Azul, who had six points after matchday 5, have taken 20 from the nine matchdays since, and Atlas, in fourth, are three behind the leaders. Querétaro, ninth, are outside the Liguilla places on goal difference. Necaxa (10) and Juárez (5) remain at the bottom.

Numbers to know

• 27 goals in nine matches; two home wins, four away wins and three draws.
• Three penalties missed, by Carranza, Clar and Ocampos, and one converted, by Montaño.
• Rondón tops the scoring charts with 13, five more than Brunetta and Juninho.
• América have scored 33 goals, the best attack in the tournament; Juárez have conceded 33, the worst defence.
• Atlante had nine shots on target and did not score.

Next up

Matchday 15 begins on Friday 30 October: Atlético de San Luis v Atlas and Juárez v Querétaro (19:00 Mexico City time) and Puebla v Pumas (21:00). On Saturday 31: Pachuca v Tigres (17:00), Monterrey v Tijuana (19:00), Guadalajara v Atlante (19:07) and América v Toluca (21:00). On Sunday 1 November: Santos Laguna v Necaxa (17:00) and Cruz Azul v León (19:00). The full table and the kick-off times are on the Liga MX page.

Sources for the context: EFE (Infobae), Milenio, Fox Sports, El Informador.