The Liga MX Apertura playoffs kicked off yesterday with number one seed Cruz Azul avoiding a “Cruzazulear” and defeating Querétaro 2-0 at Estadio Corregidora in the night’s first match, and that was followed by Monterrey’s 1-0 first leg win over Santos Laguna. On the hour mark, Rogelio Funes Mori (fresh off abusing Omar Gonzalez last week) gave los Rayados a slender advantage to take to Estadio Corona by hitting a sensational bicycle kick.
Monterrey missed the presence of Funes Mori for large parts of the regular season, but with the Argentine striker at his best, the club has a real shot of reaching the semifinals at the expense of the 2018 Clausura champions.
Both of last night’s matches will have their second legs on Saturday, Dec. 1.