SI Soccer
·12 November 2024
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Yahoo sportsSI Soccer
·12 November 2024
One year ago, Cruz Azul finished the Liga MX Apertura 2023 season in 16th place, scoring only 17 points and missing out on the playoffs. A year later, La Maquina capped off the greatest 17-game regular season in Liga MX history, topping the league with a record-setting 42 points.
Martín Anselmi arrived at the start of the calendar year to revitalize a sleeping giant. During his first season, Cruz Azul finished second in the regular season and lost the final against bitter rivals Club América. Instead of dwelling on yet another lost final, Anselmi and La Máquina entered the Apertura 2024 season with a vengeance, topping the league from Matchweek 2 onwards.
Ángel Sepúlveda's dramatic goal in stoppage time against Tigres salvaged a point that put Cruz Azul above the previous 41 point record. León in the Clausura 2019 and Cruz Azul in the Guardianes 2021 shared the previous benchmark. Both teams made it to the final that season, but Cruz Azul was the only one that managed to raise the title—the last one in club history.
Anselmi's side will hope to emulate what happened in 2021 with the playoffs on the horizon. La Máquina are the clear favorites to dethrone América. Nevertheless, this team is already historic and firmly in the conversation for one of the greatest teams ever in Liga MX.
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