Cruz Azul came away with a 3-1 victory over Necaxa at Estadio Victoria on 29 August, closing out the sixth round of the Liga MX Apertura. The visitors took all three points despite a late goal from Necaxa, and the result leaves them two points clear in the lower half of the table.
Marquez opened the scoring for Necaxa in the 23rd minute, a moment that gave the home side a brief lift. To be fair, the visitors responded quickly, and Ibanez found the net just after the break to level things up.
Ditta put Cruz Azul ahead in the 53rd minute, and by then the momentum had shifted. Rodriguez added a fourth goal in the 83rd minute to settle the matter, though Necaxa pulled one back through Marquez's teammate — wait, no, Marquez was the scorer, Rodriguez was the late one for Cruz Azul. The home side had no answer.
Both managers made changes throughout, with Necaxa bringing on Leyva, Faravelli, Gonzalez and Campos across the second half. Cruz Azul switched three players around the 73rd minute — Marquez, Gonzalez and Ibanez all came off — a tactical shift that didn't change the outcome.
Discipline issues touched both sides, with Necaxa picking up five yellow cards against Cruz Azul's two. Pedraza and Torres Patino both went to the referee in stoppage time, and the referee wasn't in the mood for more talk.
The statistics tell the fuller story. Cruz Azul created three big chances compared to none for Necaxa, and their expected goals figure of 1.91 contrasted sharply with 0.44 at the other end. They had eight shots on target to four, and while Necaxa had more possession — 46 per cent — it didn't translate into meaningful attacks.
Both teams sit in the bottom half, Necaxa twelve with seven points and Cruz Azul tenth on nine. The visitors have now won three of six, while Necaxa's two victories have come against lower-ranked opposition. Cup football has its own rules, and this was a regular league match — nothing more, nothing less.
