Apertura 2026 matchday 16: Cruz Azul win at the Volcán and lead with one matchday to go

The three-way tie at the top was broken in Cruz Azul's favour. La Máquina beat Tigres 3–2 at the Estadio Universitario with a Carlos Rotondi goal on 78 and have 32 points, two more than América, who drew 2–2 with Pumas in the Clásico Capitalino, and Guadalajara, whom León held 1–1 with an equaliser on 87. Toluca thrashed Monterrey 4–0 and Pachuca won 4–1 away to Atlas, with Salomón Rondón reaching 16 goals in the tournament. There were 26 goals in nine matches: two home wins, five away wins and two draws, five players sent off and five penalties, all of them converted.

Friday

Atlético de San Luis 0–1 Juárez was settled by a penalty. VAR confirmed the spot kick on 81 and Oscar Estupiñan converted it on 85; it is his eighth goal of the tournament. Atlético de San Luis had 59 per cent of the ball and eight shots on target to Juárez's four.

Necaxa 1–0 Tijuana was decided by Danny Leyva on 12, from Lorenzo Faravelli's pass. Tijuana had 58 per cent of the ball but only three shots on target to Necaxa's five.

Atlante 0–2 Santos Laguna was played almost entirely eleven against ten: Atlante's Aarón Quirós was sent off on 15 after a VAR review. Tahiel Jiménez put Santos Laguna ahead on 67 from Ezequiel Bullaude's pass and Esteban Lozano made it 2–0 on 77 from Mauricio Cuevas's. Walter Portales, also of Atlante, was shown a red card on 90+5.

Saturday

Atlas 1–4 Pachuca saw Manuel Capasso score at both ends: an own goal on 5 and a goal for Atlas on 51. In between, Oussama Idrissi made it 2–0 to Pachuca on 12 from Rondón's pass. Rondón scored a penalty on 75 to reach 16 goals; Atlas's Adonis Frías was sent off on 83 after a VAR review, and Eduardo Dos Santos made it 1–4 on 90+2 from a pass by Kenedy (Robert Nunes). Atlas had 66 per cent of the ball.

Tigres 2–3 Cruz Azul was end to end. Nicolás Ibáñez put Cruz Azul ahead on 24 from Andrés Montaño's pass and Juan Brunetta equalised on 39 from Fernando Gorriarán's. Montaño scored a penalty on 51, after a VAR review, and Guillermo Martínez equalised again on 65. Rotondi, who had come on in the 69th minute, made it 2–3 on 78 from Ángel Márquez's pass. Tigres had 19 shots, eight on target, and Cruz Azul 18, seven on target. Cruz Azul have won five in a row; Tigres have gone five matches without a win.

Toluca 4–0 Monterrey was 2–0 at half-time: Nicolás Castro scored on 8 from Brian García's pass and Paulinho (João Paulo Dias Fernandes) on 23 from Castro's. Paulinho scored again on 51 from Helinho's pass, Monterrey's Carlos Salcedo was sent off for violent conduct on 61 and Jesús Gallardo made it 4–0 on 90 from Federico Viñas's pass. Toluca had seven shots on target and Monterrey two.

Pumas 2–2 América began with two goals in two minutes: Álex Zendejas put América ahead on 3 from Óscar Perea's pass and César Huerta equalised on 4 from Carlos Antuna's. According to Excélsior, a foul in midfield ended in a brawl involving all 22 players, and four were booked. On 36 VAR ruled out a Robert Morales goal that would have made it 2–1, for offside according to the same paper. Henry Martín scored a penalty on 72, taking him to 11 goals in the tournament, and Morales equalised from the spot on 77; on 88 VAR overturned another penalty for Pumas. With the draw, América lose top spot.

Sunday

Querétaro 0–2 Puebla was settled by half-time: Kevin Velasco scored on 9 from Omar Moreno's pass, and Moreno on 36 from Velasco's. VAR overturned a penalty for Querétaro on 71. Querétaro had 21 shots, five on target, and have lost five in a row; Puebla had three shots on target.

León 1–1 Guadalajara was decided by the substitutes. León's José Rodríguez was sent off on 53; Fox Sports México reports that he fouled Santiago Sandoval, who was clean through on goal. Ricardo Marín, who had come on in the 60th minute, put Guadalajara ahead on 69 from Daniel Aguirre's pass, and Paul Bellón, who had come on in the 67th, equalised on 87 from Jhohan Romaña's. Guadalajara had 67 per cent of the ball and 18 shots, six on target. According to Fox Sports México, Guadalajara's fate in the race for first place is no longer in their own hands.

The table after matchday 16

Monterrey and Querétaro have played 15 matches: they meet on Saturday 14 November in Querétaro. The rest have played 16. The top eight after matchday 17 go straight to the Liguilla, and there is no relegation this season.

1. Cruz Azul, 32 points (16 played, +11)
2. América, 30 (16, +15)
3. Guadalajara, 30 (16, +11)
4. Toluca, 27 (16, +14)
5. Atlas, 27 (16, −3)
6. Santos Laguna, 25 (16, +3)
7. León, 23 (16, +2)
8. Pachuca, 22 (16, +9)
9. Tijuana, 22 (16, +3)
10. Monterrey, 21 (15, +1)

Behind them come Pumas (21), Querétaro (20), Puebla and Atlético de San Luis (19), Tigres (15), Atlante (14), Necaxa (13) and Juárez (11).

After matchday 15 América, Guadalajara and Cruz Azul had 29 points each; now Cruz Azul, the only one of the three to win, are two points clear. Toluca and Atlas, on 27, can no longer catch them, so first place will be decided among the top three, and Cruz Azul visit Guadalajara on the final matchday. Further down, Pachuca and Tijuana have 22 points and are fighting for eighth place with Monterrey and Pumas, a point behind; Querétaro are two behind with two matches to play, and Puebla and Atlético de San Luis are three behind and can still draw level on points. Tigres, Atlante, Necaxa and Juárez can no longer reach the 22 points of the team in eighth.

Before the match, Cruz Azul's coach, Joel Huiqui, said, according to Fox Sports México, that the game against Guadalajara "is going to be the best match" and that first place matters a great deal to him.

Numbers to know

• 26 goals in nine matches; two home wins, five away wins and two draws.
• Five penalties, all converted: Estupiñan, Montaño, Rondón, Martín and Morales.
• Five players sent off: Quirós and Portales (Atlante), Frías (Atlas), Salcedo (Monterrey) and Rodríguez (León).
• Rondón tops the scoring charts with 16, five more than Henry Martín (11); Brunetta and Juninho have nine.
• América have scored 38 goals, the best attack in the tournament; Guadalajara have conceded 15, the best defence.

Next up

Before the final matchday, Querétaro v Monterrey is played on Saturday 14 November (17:00 Mexico City time). Matchday 17 begins on Friday 20 November: Puebla v Atlético de San Luis (19:00) and Tijuana v Atlante and Juárez v Atlas (21:00). On Saturday 21: Pachuca v Toluca and Santos Laguna v León (17:00), Pumas v Monterrey (19:00) and Tigres v América (21:00). On Sunday 22: Guadalajara v Cruz Azul (17:07) and Querétaro v Necaxa (19:00). The full table and the kick-off times are on the Liga MX page.

Sources for the context: Excélsior, Fox Sports México (León v Guadalajara), Fox Sports México (Huiqui).