Also on Saturday, Santos Laguna remained fourth after a tough 2-2 draw against visiting America, who remained undefeated (1-4-0).
At the Camp Nou, a weak León side battled the Tuzos for 90 minutes despite going down a man just before half-time. The Liga MX champions scored in the 28th minute ("Chofis" López took credit) but struggled to defend their lead even after Esmeraldas went down to a man.
Tuzos were also down to 10 men in the 68th minute but endured an all-out onslaught for the next 32 minutes (yes, 32 minutes; 10 minutes of stoppage time added) as Oscar Ustari made several superb saves from the fortress.
Cruz Azul's descent continues
The Cementeros faced the strong title favorites but continued to set franchise standards for futility. You have to go back to the 2004 Apertura to find a worse start,"The Blue Machine."
Without a terrible Mazatlán FC team, Cruz Azul would be in the basement of Liga MX. The Cementeros limited Tigres to 10 shots while creating plenty of chances of their own but simply couldn't find any shots on target (just 3 of 17 shots hit the net).
In minute 41,A counterattack by Tigres resulted in a goal when Cementero's midfield couldn't quite follow him and tagged Guido Pizarro, who headed in from inside the box.
Cruz Azul expects more bad news this week. Newly acquired defenderCarlos Vargas was fired The pitch at the Estadio Azteca was just 16 minutes into his Cementeros debut. Everything points to a serious knee injury.
America steals a point
The game at Estadio Corona is the type of game that drives the Televisa America conspiracy so popular with fans of the other 17 Liga MX teams.
Aguilas equalized in the 84th minute after the referee whistled for a non-existent foul just outside the penalty area. In the first half, the officiating team spent a full 2 minutes studying replays after Santos Laguna's first goal when nothing looked like a foul. It was as if the VARs were desperate for a way to favor America and thwart the goal.
Just before the break, Aguilas reduced the score to 2:1a penalty by Henry Martin. The conversion saw Álvaro Fidalgo well over 10 feet inside the box before Martín fired home, but the referee ignored the foul and let the goal stand.
In the 90th minute, VAR took a closer look at a foul and the referee converted his yellow card into a red card and then added 9 minutes of stoppage time but Aguilas failed to capitalize and the game ended 2-2.
Mediocre in service, still a Liga MX ground
In León, Guillermo Pacheco described the first half of the match between Esmeraldas and Tuzos as a rugby match. The clashes and duels sparked howls of protest.
In the second half, the young referee decided to hit hard. The inconsistency confused both teams, who were suddenly called for tacky-tack fouls.
Both bans were questionable - one for each team - and both were the result of VAR consultations. Nevertheless, the poor performance did not directly affect the outcome of the match.
Veteran Liga MX referee Luis Enrique Santander was the culprit in the match between Cruz Azul and Tigres. Santander pretended to wear his uniform for an important meeting right after the game and often strolled around the pitch as if he didn't want to sweat.
There were a couple of key plays where Santander was nowhere near the action and had to pan the camera out to catch him strolling across the pitch.
Day 5 continues…
The Liga MX Sunday calendar includes another triple header.
Atlas visits UNAM at 12:00, Chivas hosts Querétaro at 17:00. and nightcap welcomes Liga MX favorites Monterrey Toluca, runners-up in last season's Liga MX finals.
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