Latin America Sports Daily for Thursday, April 23, 2026

01

Chivas Lead Liga MX on 35 Points; Pumas’ Epic 4-2 Comeback Steals the Show

Football

Guadalajara’s dominance of the Clausura 2026 continued with a 5-0 demolition of Puebla on Tuesday that put them top of the table on 35 points — but their bid to clinch home advantage through the Liguilla was frustrated by a draw at Necaxa on Wednesday night. Chivas remain the team to beat in Mexican football, but the Rebaño Sagrado will enter the final Jornada 17 needing confirmation of their first-place finish.

The week’s most dramatic match belonged to Pumas. Trailing Juárez 0-2 at half-time after goals from Nevarez and Jairo Torres, Efraín Juárez’s side erupted in the second half. Juárez were reduced to ten men, and Guillermo “Memote” Martínez struck twice in three minutes (66′, 69′ pen) before Robert Morales completed the comeback with a brace that sent the CU faithful into delirium. The 4-2 victory lifts Pumas to 33 points in second place — maintaining their challenge to Chivas for the top seed.

América made their own statement at the recently reopened Estadio Banorte (formerly Azteca), beating León 3-2 in a match that doubled as a direct Liguilla qualifier. Zendejas converted a penalty to restore América’s lead after León equalised with a spectacular strike, and the Águilas’ three points mathematically secure their place in the Fase Final. With six teams now confirmed for the Liguilla (Chivas, Pumas, Pachuca, Cruz Azul, Toluca virtually, and América), the battle for the remaining two berths — involving Atlas, Tigres, Tijuana, León, and Monterrey — will be decided in Jornada 17 this weekend.

02

Cruz Azul Sack Larcamón Despite Fourth Place: The Gamble That Defines Liga MX’s Pressure Culture

Football

The most consequential decision of Jornada 16 happened off the pitch. Cruz Azul dismissed Nicolás Larcamón after Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Querétaro — a result that left La Máquina fourth in the table on 30 points with their Liguilla place already secured. The sacking, described as a strategic pivot rather than a crisis intervention, reflects the club’s belief that a new voice is needed to optimise performance for the knockout rounds.

The decision is remarkable by any standard: Larcamón had guided Cruz Azul to fourth place in a competitive Clausura, but the club’s hierarchy apparently felt the team’s recent form — which included draws against Querétaro and a concerning loss of attacking fluency — was insufficient for a genuine title challenge. In Liga MX’s high-stakes ecosystem, where the regular season is merely a qualifying round for the Liguilla that determines the champion, fourth place without momentum can feel like failure.

The identity of Larcamón’s replacement has not yet been confirmed, but the new coach will inherit a squad with genuine quality — led by the likes of Carlos Rodríguez and the attacking options that carried Cruz Azul to the 2025 Clausura semi-finals. The Liguilla’s cuartos de final begin May 2-3, giving the incoming manager approximately ten days to reshape the tactical approach. For those tracking Latin American financial news, Cruz Azul’s coaching change is the 12th managerial dismissal across Mexican and Brazilian top-flight football in 2026 — an extraordinary rate of instability that reflects the sport’s results-driven culture.