Liga MX

After last year’s all-Liga MX semifinal round in the CONCACAF Champions League, we’ve been given some welcome variety in this year’s edition with two MLS sides reaching the semis for the first time since 2012-13.

FC Dallas, the 2016 MLS Supporters’ Shield and US Open Cup winners, will play Pachuca, champions of the 2016 Liga MX Clausura. In the other tie, the Vancouver Whitecaps, victors over the New York Red Bulls in the quarterfinals, will play Tigres, the side that won the Liga MX Apertura championship in December.

Chivas beat Club America Saturday in the Superclasico, with an Angel Zaldivar penalty the difference between the two sides. The real story of the game, though, was Club America manager Ricardo La Volpe making a tackle on Chivas' Jesus Sanchez.

La Volpe was rightly sent off. 

I have to admit, it was a pretty good tackle. Not bad for a 65-year-old!

Cuauhtemoc Blanco is a legend. El Temo was one of the most creative, entertaining players in the world during his career. Hell, even his post-playing career, featuring a successful election to the mayorship of Cuernavaca, a government investigation and a hunger strike, has been absurd. His signature move, the Cuauteminha, involved him gathering the ball between his feet and hopping away from defenders.

Javier Guemez, who plays for Blanco's former team, Club America, tried to do the Cuauhteminha against Coras Tepic. It did not go as planned.

Non-Spanish-speaking Liga MX fans will be thrilled to hear Univision is going to start live-streaming games in English on their Facebook page. The streams will only be available in the USA, and will begin with Saturday's Superclasico between Chivas Guadalajara and Club America.

Liga MX is one of the most popular leagues in the world, both in terms of attendance and TV ratings (it outdraws even the EPL in the United States). 

USMNT and Tijuana winger Paul Arriola scored a vicious volley for his club side on Friday in their 6-2 victory over Puebla. Tijuana had opened the 2017 Liga MX Clausura with a disappointing 2-0 loss to Morelia — the team in last in the relegation table. In that defeat, Arriola had been substituted at half time.

However, the 21-year-old has been tipped to have a breakout 2017 and his goal against Puebla was evidence of his talent. With the scores level at 2-2 in the 61st minute, Arriola struck this wicked volley to put his side ahead for good.

I firmly believe Liga MX is the most entertaining soccer league in the world, and a recent match between Chiapas and Pachuca proved why that's true.

Never mind the score, or even the soccer, because this game featured both a dog and a cat coming on to the field.

The dog looks way more excited to be there than the cat, which figures.

Liga MX: it's FAAAANNNNNTASTIC.

Rodolfo Pizarro is a bad man.

On Satuday, Chivas were tied 0-0 with Monterrey in the 10th minute. A Chivas cross was dealt with by the Monterrey defense, but Pizarro volleyed the rebound into the top corner of the net.

Pachuca’s 4-2 victory over Leon to begin the 2017 Clausura was about one man, and one many only: Hirving “Chucky” Lozano. The 21-year-old attacker has long been touted the most promising player in Liga MX, and his play has largely evidenced that fact since his debut in 2014.

But Lozano looks to have reached a whole different level in 2016-17. His stunning hat trick against Leon on Saturday showcased his range of talents: speed and quickness, technical ability, an incredible shot and an increasing knack for goals from the wing.

Probably no one in Europe knows how good a manager Ricardo "Tuca" Ferretti is.

Ferretti has led Tigres to the last two Liga MX titles. He has never managed outside of Mexico, with stints managing Chivas Guadalajara, Toluca, Morelia, Pumas and three different spells at Tigres. He has Mexican citizenship, despite being Brazilian by birth.