Cruz Azul beats Chiapas 2-0; San Luis wins 3-2

MEXICO CITY (AP): Christian Gimenez and Emanuel Villa scored in each half to give Cruz Azul a 2-0 home win over Chiapas in the fifth round of the Mexican Clausura championship Saturday.

Gimenez scored with a shot that rebounded in off the post in the 38th minute and Villa finished a cross in the 58th to move Cruz Azul atop the tournament's Group 3 overnight.

San Luis tops the general standings after rallying to win 3-2 over Estudiantes Tecos, while UANL Tigres had a 2-0 victory at Santos to head Group 1.

Elsewhere, defending champion Monterrey won 2-0 at home over a 10-man Pachuca, while Guadalajara beat Atlante 2-0.

The fifth round continues Sunday with Puebla vs. UNAM Pumas, Toluca vs. Atlas and America vs. Queretaro. Atlas could move above San Luis in the general standings with a win at Toluca.

The 18 clubs in Mexico's Primera Division are split into three groups, with the top two in each group, and the two other clubs best placed in the general standings, automatically contesting end-of-season playoffs.

In Torreon, Hector Mancilla opened the scoring for Tigres at Santos after a pass from American international Jonathan Bornstein in the ninth minute.

Bornstein produced an influential performance in midfield as he continues to settle in Mexico following a postseason move from Chivas USA.

Juninho scored the second for Tigres from Lucas Lobos' cross just before halftime to seal the win and put Tigres on ten points, three clear of Santos atop the tournament's Group 1.

Reigning title holder Monterrey got its second victory in five matches with a win over Pachuca.

Aldo De Nigris headed in Neri Cardozo's cross in the 27th minute and Pachuca was reduced to 10 men when Leobardo Lopez was sent off for a 31st-minute challenge on Monterrey captain Luis Perez that looked innocuous in TV replays.

Monterrey took advantage of the extra man as Cardozo added the second goal with a volley into the bottom corner from Humberto Suazo's back-post cross in the 49th.

Monterrey moved to six points in Group 1, level with Chivas of Guadalajara, which scored two late goals to defeat Atlante.

Patricio Araujo headed the opener for Chivas after Erick Torres nodded a free kick back across goal and Hector Reynoso scored a stoppage-time penalty after Marco Fabian was fouled in the box on a counter attack.

In Saturday's final match, Wilmer Aguirre hit an 89th-minute penalty as San Luis rallied past Estudiantes Tecos, which had three players sent off.

Elgabry Rangel opened the scoring for Estudiantes from Rubens Sambueza's pass in the 21st minute and Sambueza gave the visitors a two-goal cushion in the 55th.

Luis Hernandez started the comeback with a 63rd-mintue header and Juan Manuel Cavallo equalized for San Luis in the 79th.

Diego Jimenez was sent off for Estudiantes in the 83rd and Manuel Moran was also shown a red card after fouling Juan Cuevas for the penalty that Wilmer Aguirre converted to snatch the points for San Luis.

Juan Leano became the third Estudiantes player to be sent off after receiving a second yellow card for a foul deep in stoppage time.

San Luis, which has played six matches, tops the general standings and Group 2 with 11 points, while Estudiantes is level on points with Monterrey and Guadalajara in Group 1.

  

Cruz Azul draws 3-3 with UNAM Pumas

MEXICO CITY (AP): Hugo Droguett salvaged a point for Cruz Azul by scoring a late equaliser in a 3-3 draw with derby rival UNAM Pumas on Saturday in the third round of the Mexican Clausura championship.

Emanuel Villa and Horacio Cervantes had given Cruz Azul a 2-0 lead at half time, but two goals by Juan Carlos Cacho either side of Dario Veron's header put Pumas in front with 10 minutes to go. Droguett slotted the equalizer in the 83rd.

Elsewhere, reigning champion Monterrey claimed its first win in three with a 1-0 home victory against ten-man Atlante. In other results, Morelia won 3-0 at Queretaro, while both Guadalajara-San Luis and Santos Laguna-Pachuca ended 1-1.

On Friday, Atlas won 1-0 at Necaxa. Fixtures continue Sunday, with Puebla vs. Estudiantes Tecos, Toluca vs. Chiapas and America vs. UANL Tigres. After three rounds of matches, Atlas is the only team with maximum points.

In the Mexico City derby earlier Saturday, Villa prodded the ball home to give Cruz Azul the lead after the Pumas defence failed to clear a corner in the 25th minute.

A pass from Cervantes took a big deflection on the edge of the box to wrong-foot goalkeeper Alejandro Palacios in the 36th and give Cruz Azul a two-goal advantage at half time.

Martin Bravo scooped a cross into the path of Cacho to pull a goal back for Pumas with a volley after an hour and Veron levelled with a header from a corner in the 73rd.

Cacho then curled a shot in via the crossbar from 30 yards (metres) to give Pumas the lead in the 80th, but Droguett raced on to a pass from Cesar Villaluz to equalise the scores three minutes later.

In Monterrey, Humberto Suazo scored his first goal of the tournament after bursting through the defense in the second minute to give defending champion Rayados a first win of the season at home against Atlante.

Jorge Hernandez was sent off in the 73rd for the visitors. Suazo scored 15 goals in Monterrey's title win in the Apertura tournament, but has struggled for fitness after returning from holiday later than expected ahead of the Clausura campaign.

In the northern city of Torreon, Edgar Benitez scored a quickfire equaliser for Pachuca a minute after Daniel Luduena had given home team Santos the lead in the 44th minute. Santos held on for the draw despite a red card for Fernando Arce in the 74th.

Elsewhere, Chivas of Guadalajara took the lead against San Luis thanks to a headed goal from 18-year-old striker Erick Torres in the 67th minute, but Anibal Matellan scored a near-post header from a corner to level in the 76th.

Rafael Marquez Lugo scored in the 57th to put Morelia ahead at Queretaro. A Jaime Lozano penalty in the 80th and an Elias Hernandez strike in stoppage time completed the 3-0 win.

The Mexican season is split into two tournaments, the Apertura and Clausura. In each tournament, the 18 teams of the Primera Division play each other once, with a playoff system to decide the champion.

  

Atlante beats Cruz Azul 3-0 in Mexican Clausura

MEXICO CITY (AP): Christian Bermudez and Giancarlo Maldonado hit second-half goals as Atlante secured a 3-0 home win against Cruz Azul in the second round of matches in the Mexican Clausura championship on Saturday.

Atlante took the lead through Waldo Ponce's own goal in the 56th minute, before Bermudez' goal in the 72nd and Maldonado's penalty in the 76th sealed the win.

Elsewhere, Andres Olivera scored a stoppage-time equalizer to rescue a point for America in a 2-2 draw at Chiapas.

In other Saturday results, it was: San Luis 3, Puebla 0; Pachuca 0, Toluca 0; UANL Tigres 1, Necaxa 0; and Atlas 2, Queretaro 1.

On Friday, Monterrey lost 3-2 against Estudiantes Tecos.

Fixtures continue Sunday.

  

Pachuca wins 2-0 at America in Mexico

MEXICO CITY (AP) - Goals from Yulian Anchico and Edgar Benitez gave Pachuca a 2-0 win at America in the opening round of the Mexican Clausura championship on Sunday.

Guadalajara drew 1-1 at Puebla and Toluca was held 1-1 by UNAM Pumas in the day's other games.

At America's Azteca stadium, Anchico's goal came courtesy of a defensive mistake by defender Juan Carlos Valenzuela in the 25th minute. Valenzuela lost track of the ball after a free kick and it bounced off his back, allowing Anchico to fire it into the roof of the net.

Benitez hit the second goal in the 67th minute to seal the win.

Earlier, Omar Esparza gave Chivas of Guadalajara an early lead with a deflected cross that looped into the net in the ninth minute. Felix Borja equalized the score when he burst through the middle of the Chivas defense and clipped the ball past goalkeeper Luis Michel in the 55th.

At Nemesio Diez stadium, Toluca's Nestor Calderon received the ball on the edge of the box and swiveled to hit a shot into the top right corner of the net in the 38th minute against Pumas.

Juan Cacho leveled the score with a shot on the half-turn after Toluca's defenders failed to clear a corner in the 81st.

In Friday and Saturday results, it was: Necaxa 0, Chiapas 1; Cruz Azul 4, Tecos Estudiantes 1; Monterrey 0, San Luis 2; Queretaro 2, UANL Tigres 2; Santos 2, Atlante 1; Atlas 5, Morelia 0.

The Mexican league season is split into two tournaments with playoffs to determine the champion.

  

Cruz Azul beats Tecos; Monterrey loses to San Luis

ONTERREY, Mexico (AP): Cruz Azul thrashed Estudiantes Tecos 4-1 at home, while San Luis beat defending champion Monterrey 2-0 in the first round of the Mexican Clausura championship on Saturday.

Emanuel Villa, Christian Gimenez and Marcelo Palau scored in the first half for Cruz Azul, with Gonzalo Pineda adding a late fourth from the penalty spot. Mauro Cejas scored for Estudiantes.

Meanwhile Osmar Mares opened for San Luis in the 74th minute at Monterrey, with Juan Medina scoring the second goal in stoppage time. Monterrey's William Paredes was sent off in the 88th.

In other results Saturday, it was: Santos Laguna 2, Atlante 1; Queretaro 2, UANL Tigres 2; Atlas 5, Morelia 0.

On Friday, Chiapas won 1-0 at Necaxa.

In Mexico City, Villa set Cruz Azul on the way to a comfortable victory against Tecos after Hugo Droguett's cross from the left broke for him to finish from close range in the sixth minute.

Gimenez added a second with a diagonal shot that went just inside the far post in the 15th minute.

Cejas scored a penalty to give Estudiantes hope in the 19th minute following a tug on Eduardo Lillingston inside the box, but Cruz Azul scored a third when Javier Orozco pulled the ball back for Palau to hit into the roof of the net in the 38th.

The win was sealed when Gonzalo Pineda scored from the spot in the 86th minute after Gimenez had been fouled by goalkeeper Moises Munoz.

Cruz Azul is among the favorites for the Clausura championship after finishing the previous tournament top of the general standings only to lose in the playoff quarterfinals.

Reigning champion Monterrey, missing key players to injury and a lack of match fitness, opened its title defense with a home loss against San Luis.

Mares gave the visiting side the lead after a free kick ricocheted into his path in the 74th minute.

William Paredes was sent off for a high challenge in the 88th minute and Medina chipped the second goal over goalkeeper Jonathan Orozco to seal victory for San Luis.

Santos, another team expected to challenge for the title, started with a 2-1 win against Atlante. Darwin Quintero gave Santos the lead with a finish from Daniel Luduena's cutback in the 55th, while Christian Benitez broke through to add a second in the 73rd.

Fernando Navarro pulled a goal back for Atlante with a shot from the edge of the area in the 82nd minute.

Queretaro's Carlos Bueno scored in the 19th and 56th minutes to give the hosts a two-goal advantage against Tigres, but a Danilinho header in the 71st and Lucas Lobos' equalizer in the 78th gave the visiting side a share of the points.

Atlas stormed past Morelia with a 5-0 home victory thanks to two goals from Gerardo Espinoza. Wilman Conde, Christian Diaz and Daniel Osorno completed the scoring.

The match was played in an empty stadium as a punishment after Atlas fans clashed with police in the club's final match of the previous season.

Three matches are scheduled for Sunday: Puebla vs. Guadalajara, America vs. Pachuca and Toluca vs. UNAM Pumas.