Liga MX side Pachuca have landed 22-year-old winger Kekuta Manneh on a free transfer after the USMNT hopeful turned down the Columbus Crew’s contract offer, electing to continue his development abroad after five years of play in Major League Soccer.
¡Welcome @kekuta16!
Pablo Aguilar has officially left Club América and "Las águilas" fans are losing their minds. Everyone is wondering how Club América came to even think of allowing arguably their most reliable player to leave the club.
Aguilar is no doubt one of the best defenders in Liga MX. Four years ago, Aguilar joined Club América from Tijuana and proved to be one of the best purchases the club has made in recent times. Now Aguilar is headed back to Tijuana.
Récord, a Mexican daily sports newspaper, has named 18-year-old American midfielder Jonathan Gonzalez in its Torneo Apertura Best XI following a sensational breakthrough season for the California native at Monterrey.
After signing with Monterrey in 2014, Gonzalez advanced through the youth ranks before becoming a mainstay in the heart of Los Rayados’ midfield throughout the 2017 Apertura season. Monterrey finished at the top of the table in the regular season before losing in the final to Tigres.
In continuing the theme of 2017 being a sh*t year for U.S. soccer, the lone American at the Club World Cup was at fault for the goal that knocked Mexico’s Pachuca out of the competition on Tuesday at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in the UAE. Gremio’s Everton turned Omar Gonzalez inside out before curling in a wonderful shot to give the Brazilian side a 1-0 victory in extra time.
Gonzalez apparently thought he was still playing for the USMNT, perhaps against Trinidad and Tobago.
With everything on the line, Aviles Hurtado channeled his inner Simone Zaza, hitting an absolutely appalling penalty kick to cost Monterrey the Liga MX Apertura championship, allowing UANL to pull off an impressive comeback to win 3-2 on aggregate on Sunday.
The Rayados took an early lead in the second leg on Sunday before two quick-fire goals helped the Tigres win the 2017 Apertura title after losing the preceding Clausura clash with Chivas in May.
Tigres and Monterrey are in the Liga MX final. The first leg took place last night in Monterrey (Tigres were home, both teams are based in Monterrey), and, as expected, it was extremely fun.
To recap: A silly goal from a corner kick, a panenka penalty, a second-yellow sending off and then ANOTHER second-yellow sending off.
Liga MX has this charming habit of not telling folks what time their Liguilla matches are going to take place until just a few days beforehand. One of the things we like most about Liga MX is reveling in its chaos, so we can't complain too much. Good news: the 2017 Liga MX Apertura finals schedule has been finalized and updated.
Guido Rodríguez can kick. Be it the face of his opponents or the ball, the Argentinean has proven he has enough power in his right foot to make any stadium explode with joy or awe.
Earlier this season, it was former Club América star Rubens Sambueza who got savagely kicked in the face by his compatriot Guido Rodríguez.
This week we’ll be going over 10 players who have impressed most in Liga MX this season. Let's get right to it:
1. Aviles Hurtado
The best player on the best team. Simple as that.
2. Mauro Boselli Boselli
He is almost certainly going to win the golden boot again this season, and Leon are looking like favorites for a playoff spot.
3. Enner Valencia
The former West Ham man leads Tigres’ attack, the most dangerous in Liga MX