Liga MX final: America-Monterrey players, prediction, more

Get ready for the Liga MX Apertura 2024 finals!

Starting with Club America’s home game on Thursday and concluding with Monterrey hosting the second leg on Sunday, this season’s Liga MX champions will be crowned this week. Ahead of over 180 minutes of the highly anticipated title series, here’s everything you need to know about the finalists.

CLUB AMERICA
(Regular Season: 8th place, 8W-3D-6L)

How they got here

Injury problems and a busy schedule pushed and dragged the Mexico City giants through inconsistent results and questionable performances. However, with all other competitions in the rearview mirror, Liga MX’s most successful team has only lost once in its last 12 games.

In the playoffs, they had a five-man defense that gave them victories over Toluca in the quarterfinals and a dramatic turnaround in the semifinals against rival and No. 1 seed Cruz Azul. It’s no longer high-possession football, but for fans hoping for a third title in a row, that doesn’t matter.

One reason why they will win and one reason why they won’t

Why will they win? Head coach André Jardine and his squad are no strangers to the current situation, having won the last two Liga MX titles. The switch to a more cautious style worked wonders and although their possession numbers fell sharply as a result, they were efficient going forward and more solid defensively.

As for the reasons for defeat, this change also represents a risk for the team, which now offers fewer options in the final third. Club America’s four playoff games in Apertura 2024 featured the three games with the fewest chances. The experiment has worked for Jardine so far, but that also means he will be doomed if his players can’t be as dangerous as they need to be in the final third.

Which player should you watch out for?

On a roster filled with some of the best and brightest in North American club soccer, the standout playoff player for Las Aguilas was a 23-year-old academy product Ramon Juarez. The centre-back has been invaluable in his efforts – which included an impressive 30 saves in the semi-final – and recently added a goal against Cruz Azul.

If head coach Jardine continues to prioritize a more reactive rather than proactive style of play, Juárez will be an important cog in the defensive line.

Is a call-up to the Mexican senior national team next?

What a title would mean for the club

That’s what it would mean Las Aguilas continues to be in a class of its own in Mexican football.

Currently, Club America is the all-time league leader with 15 championships and would then be the first in Liga MX to win three consecutive titles (in the short season). Jardine, once an unknown outside of Mexico, began his Club America 2023 introductory press conference by telling the media how to pronounce his name correctly and also emphasized that he is the best coach in Liga MX.

Although modern Mexican football has seen a financial shift towards emerging northern giants such as Monterrey and Tigres, a 16th championship for Club America would once again reinforce that they are still the undisputed kings.

MONTERREY
(Regular Season: 5th place, 9W-4D-4L)

How they got here

As with Club America, inconsistency was the norm until the end of the season. After a lackluster summer period that saw a 3W-3D-4L record in all competitions, Monterrey have now picked up their pace with five wins from their last six.

It took some time to adapt to the new era with head coach Martin Demichelis, but the attack is running with recent outstanding performances from big names such as Sergio Canales, Germán Berterame and Oliver Torres.

They are often viewed as a group of wealthy, talented individuals rather than a team. Los Rayados finally start to gel.

One reason why they will win and one reason why they won’t

With arguably the deepest roster in all of North American soccer, Demichelis has no shortage of backup plans and replacement players. Momentum is also crucial for the team, which played its best 90+ minutes of football this season in last week’s 5-1 win over Atletico San Luis in the semi-final.

All in all, this is a club that can also have problems defensively. While their attacking numbers are starting to improve, this team also ranks third to last (including playoffs) when looking at the percentage of aerial duels won, and is also only 10th when looking at the percentage of all duels won.

Let’s not forget that they scored a lot of goals in the playoffs, but they also conceded five goals in the last three games.

Which player should you watch out for?

It has to be their guiding star and number 10 in midfield, Sergio Canales.

The 33-year-old Spaniard has been a joy to watch, scoring four goals and providing four assists in his last six appearances. His vision remains world class and it is no surprise why the leader is occasionally named team captain.

If Monterrey is successful, it will probably be because of the player who loves to pull the strings in the starting XI – and occasionally score a goal.

What a title would mean for the club

A championship would be a worthy prize for an organization that has sought to shift the epicenter of Mexican soccer to the north through immense investment.

Despite having the best and most modern stadium in Liga MX, back-to-back championships for their women’s team, some of the league’s most famous stars and three wins as the cumulative points leader throughout the year since 2015, they also only have a single title in the last decade.

A sixth championship would not only help take the spotlight away from the traditional big four of Mexico City and Guadalajara (Club America, Chivas, Cruz Azul, Pumas), but would also provide a much-needed boost as they hope to get some buzz to be able to excite the Club World Cup in 2025.

Expected score

Defense wins championships and after a hard-fought 1-1 draw at home in the first leg, Club America will finish things off with a narrow 1-0 away win in Monterrey. One can’t help but feel that Demichelis is still figuring things out after his arrival in August, and as for Jardine, his experience in Mexico and more pragmatic approach suggest he will fend off Monterrey’s attacking efforts .

Club America with an aggregate score of 2:1should win the 2024 Liga MX Apertura title.