Guardianes 2021 Liga MX final phase

The Torneo Guardianes 2021 (stylized as Guard1anes) Liga MX final phase^[1] was played between 8 May 2021 to 30 May 2021.^[2] A total of 12 teams competed in the final phase to decide the champions of the Guardianes 2021 Liga MX season.^[3] For the second straight season, an additional qualifying round, the reclassification or repechaje, was employed, which expanded the number of playoff spots to 12.

Both finalists qualified to the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League.^[4]

Qualified teams

The following teams qualified for the championship stage.

In the following tables, the number of appearances, last appearance, and previous best result count only those in the short tournament era starting from Invierno 1996 (not counting those in the long tournament era from 1943–44 to 1995–96).

Qualified directly to quarter-finals (4 teams)
Seed	Team	Points (GD)	Date of qualification	Appearance	Last appearance	Previous best	Ref.
1	Cruz Azul	41	20 March 2021	30th	Guardianes 2020	Champions (Invierno 1997)	^[5]
2	América	38	3 April 2021	35th		Champions (5 times)	^[6]
3	Puebla	28 (+11)	17 April 2021	9th		Semifinals (3 times)	^[7]
4	Monterrey	28 (+9)	16 April 2021	25th		Champions (4 times)	^[8]

Qualified to Reclassification round (8 teams)
Seed	Team	Points (GD)	Date of qualification	Appearance	Last appearance	Previous best	Ref.
5	Santos Laguna	26 (+5)	18 April 2021	32nd	Guardianes 2020	Champions (6 times)	^[9]
6	León	26 (+2)	30 April 2021	13th	Guardianes 2020	Champions (3 times)	^[10]
7	Atlas	25	30 April 2021	22nd	Apertura 2017	Runners-up (Verano 1999)	^[11]
8	Pachuca	23 (+1)	29 April 2021	23rd	Guardianes 2020	Champions (6 times)	^[12]
9	Guadalajara	23 (0)	1 May 2021	27th		Champions (3 times)	^[13]
10	UANL	23 (–1)	1 May 2021	27th		Champions (5 times)	^[14]
11	Toluca	22	1 May 2021	34th		Champions (7 times)	^[15]
12	Querétaro	21	2 May 2021	12th^{[note 1]}	Apertura 2019	Runners-up (Clausura 2015)	^[16]^[17]

Format

Reclassification

All rounds will be played in a single-leg hosted by the higher seed
If a game ends in a draw, it will proceed directly to a penalty shoot-out.

Liguilla

Teams are re-seeded after each round.
The winners of the Reclassification matches are seeded based on their ranking in the classification table.
Team with more goals on aggregate after two matches advance.
Away goals rule is applied in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, but not the final.
In the quarter-finals and semi-finals, if the two teams are tied on aggregate and away goals, the higher seeded team advances.
In the final, if the two teams are tied after both legs, the match will go to extra time and, if necessary, a shoot-out.
Both finalists will qualify to the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League.

^[1]

Reclassification

Summary

Matches took place on 8–9 May 2021.

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Santos Laguna	5–0	Querétaro
León	2–2 (2–4 p)	Toluca
Atlas	1–0	UANL
Pachuca	4–2	Guadalajara

Matches

8 May 2021

19:00 CDT (UTC−6)

Atlas	1–0	UANL
Furch 80'	Report

Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara

Attendance: 11,341

Referee: César Arturo Ramos (Sinaloa)

8 May 2021

21:15 CDT (UTC−6)

Santos Laguna	5–0	Querétaro
Gorriarán 21' Preciado 24' Aguirre 49', 62' Valdés 60' (pen.)	Report

Estadio Corona, Torreón

Attendance: 6,206

Referee: Fernando Hernández Gómez (Mexico City)

9 May 2021

19:00 CDT (UTC−6)

León	2–2	Toluca
Dávila 45+1' Ambríz 89'	Report	Castañeda 17' Canelo 58'
Penalties
Moreno Godínez Campbell Dávila	2–4	Ortega Canelo Diego Sambueza

Estadio León, León

Attendance: 7,637

Referee: Luis Enrique Santander (Guanajuato)

9 May 2021

21:15 CDT (UTC−6)

Pachuca	4–2	Guadalajara
Murillo 51', 80' de la Rosa 69', 89'	Report	Antuna 10', 90+3' (pen.)

Estadio Hidalgo, Pachuca

Attendance: 9,768

Referee: Marco Antonio Ortiz (Durango)

Seeding

The following was the final seeding for the final phase. The winners of the Reclassification matches were seeded based on their position in the classification table.

Seed	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Cruz Azul	17	13	2	2	26	11	+15	41
2	América	17	12	2	3	26	14	+12	38
3	Puebla	17	7	7	3	25	14	+11	28
4	Monterrey	17	8	4	5	22	13	+9	28

5	Santos Laguna	17	7	5	5	18	13	+5	26
6	Atlas	17	7	4	6	20	15	+5	25
7	Pachuca	17	6	5	6	20	19	+1	23
8	Toluca	17	6	4	7	26	24	+2	22

Source: Liga MX
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Away goals scored; 5) Drawing of lots.

Bracket

Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Finals

1	Cruz Azul	1	3	4

8	Toluca	2	1	3
					1	Cruz Azul	0	1	1

					7	Pachuca	0	0	0
2	América	1	4	5

7	Pachuca (a)	3	2	5
										1	Cruz Azul	1	1	2

										5	Santos Laguna	0	1	1
3	Puebla (s)	0	1	1

6	Atlas	1	0	1
					3	Puebla	0	1	1

					5	Santos Laguna	3	0	3
4	Monterrey	1	1	2

5	Santos Laguna	2	1	3

Quarter-finals

Summary

The first legs were played on 12–13 May, and the second legs were played on 15–16 May.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Toluca	3–4	Cruz Azul	2–1	1–3
Pachuca	5–5 (a)	América	3–1	2–4
Atlas	1–1 (s)	Puebla	1–0	0–1
Santos Laguna	3–2	Monterrey	2–1	1–1

Matches

First leg

12 May 2021

19:00 CDT (UTC−6)

Toluca	2–1	Cruz Azul
Canelo 27' (pen.) Estrada 52' (pen.)	Report	Fernández 34'

Estadio Nemesio Díez, Toluca

Attendance: 6,410

Referee: Marco Antonio Ortiz (Durango)

12 May 2021

21:05 CDT (UTC−6)

Atlas	1–0	Puebla
Torres 59'	Report

Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara

Attendance: 15,221

Referee: Luis Enrique Santander (Guanajuato)

13 May 2021

19:00 CDT (UTC−6)

Pachuca	3–1	América
Aguirre 29' Pardo 65' Chávez 90+4'	Report	Suárez 45+2'

Estadio Hidalgo, Pachuca

Attendance: 9,053

Referee: Eduardo Galván Basulto (Mexico City)

13 May 2021

21:05 CDT (UTC−6)

Santos Laguna	2–1	Monterrey
Aguirre 52' Preciado 63'	Report	Janssen 19'

Estadio Corona, Torreón

Attendance: 9,667

Referee: Jorge Isaac Rojas (Mexico City)

Second leg

15 May 2021

18:00 CDT (UTC−6)

Puebla	1–0	Atlas
Santamaría 70' (o.g.)	Report

Estadio Cuauhtémoc, Puebla

Attendance: 11,432

Referee: Diego Montaño Robles (Jalisco)

1–1 on aggregate and tied on away goals. Puebla advanced due to being the higher seed in the classification table.

15 May 2021

20:05 CDT (UTC−6)

Cruz Azul	3–1	Toluca
Angulo 11' Rodríguez 80' (pen.) Giménez 90+3'	Report	Canelo 14'

Estadio Azteca, Mexico City

Attendance: 17,929

Referee: Fernando Hernández Gómez (Mexico City)

Cruz Azul won 4–3 on aggregate.

16 May 2021

18:00 CDT (UTC−6)

Monterrey	1–1	Santos Laguna
Meza 30'	Report	Prieto 90+1'

Estadio BBVA, Guadalupe

Attendance: 15,743

Referee: César Arturo Ramos (Sinaloa)

Santos Laguna won 3–2 on aggregate.

16 May 2021

20:05 CDT (UTC−6)

América	4–2	Pachuca
Martínez 17' (pen.), 53' Fuentes 27' Suárez 73'	Report	Ibarra 5' Cabral 63' (pen.)

Estadio Azteca, Mexico City

Attendance: 16,564

Referee: Fernando Guerrero (Mexico City)

5–5 on aggregate. Pachuca won on away goals.

Semi-finals

Summary

The first legs will be played on 19–20 May, and the second legs will be played on 22–23 May.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Pachuca	0–1	Cruz Azul	0–0	0–1
Santos Laguna	3–1	Puebla	3–0	0–1

Matches

First leg

19 May 2021

20:30 CDT (UTC−6)

Pachuca	0–0	Cruz Azul
	Report

Estadio Hidalgo, Pachuca

Attendance: 12,221

Referee: Luis Enrique Santander (Guanajuato)

20 May 2021

21:00 CDT (UTC−6)

Santos Laguna	3–0	Puebla
Aguirre 1', 27' Preciado 72'	Report

Estadio Corona, Torreón

Attendance: 13,132

Referee: Marco Antonio Ortiz (Durango)

Second leg

22 May 2021

20:00 CDT (UTC−6)

Cruz Azul	1–0	Pachuca
Giménez 51'	Report

Estadio Azteca, Mexico City

Attendance: 19,708

Referee: César Arturo Ramos (Sinaloa)

Cruz Azul won 1–0 on aggregate.

23 May 2021

19:00 CDT (UTC−6)

Puebla	1–0	Santos Laguna
Ormeño 54'	Report

Estadio Cuauhtémoc, Puebla

Attendance: 18,604

Referee: Fernando Guerrero (Mexico City)

Santos Laguna won 3–1 on aggregate.

Finals

Summary

The first leg was played on 27 May, and the second leg was played on 30 May.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Santos Laguna	1–2	Cruz Azul	0–1	1–1

Matches

First leg

27 May 2021

21:00 CDT (UTC−6)

Santos Laguna	0–1	Cruz Azul
	Report	Romo 71'

Estadio Corona, Torreón

Attendance: 14,577

Referee: Fernando Guerrero (Mexico City)

Details

Santos Laguna^[18]^[19]

Cruz Azul^[18]^[19]


GK	1	Carlos Acevedo (c)
DF	8	Carlos Orrantia	83'
DF	5	Félix Torres
DF	21	Dória
DF	190	Omar Campos
MF	11	Fernando Gorriarán	77'
MF	6	Alan Cervantes
MF	7	Juan Ferney Otero
MF	10	Diego Valdés
MF	32	Ayrton Preciado	77'
FW	19	Eduardo Aguirre	87'
Substitutions:
GK	25	Gibrán Lajud
DF	3	Ismael Govea
DF	20	Hugo Rodríguez
MF	14	David Andrade
MF	22	Ronaldo Prieto
MF	23	Andrés Ibargüen	77'
MF	27	Jesús Isijara	83'
FW	12	Alberto Ocejo
FW	30	Ignacio Jeraldino	87'
FW	192	Santiago Muñóz	77'
Manager:
Guillermo Almada


GK	1	José de Jesús Corona (c)
DF	24	Juan Escobar
DF	23	Pablo Aguilar
DF	4	Julio César Domínguez
DF	16	Adrián Aldrete	86'
MF	22	Rafael Baca
MF	15	Ignacio Rivero	70'
MF	7	Luis Romo	86'
MF	28	Guillermo Fernández	78'
MF	19	Yoshimar Yotún	70'
FW	21	Jonathan Rodríguez
Substitutions:
GK	33	Sebastián Jurado
DF	3	Jaiber Jiménez
DF	5	Alexis Peña
DF	12	José Joaquín Martínez	78'
MF	11	Elías Hernández	86'
MF	14	Misael Domínguez
MF	20	Alexis Gutiérrez
MF	31	Orbelín Pineda	70'
MF	9	Walter Montoya	70'
FW	29	Santiago Giménez	86'
Manager:
Juan Reynoso

Assistant referees:^[20]
Michel Alejandro Morales (Mexico City)
José Ibrahim Martínez (Guerrero)
Fourth official:^[20]
Diego Montaño Robles (Jalisco)
Video assistant referee:^[20]
Jorge Isaac Rojas (Mexico City)
Assistant video assistant referee:^[20]
Gerardo Martínez Bravo (Guanajuato)

Statistics

Statistic^[21]	Santos Laguna	Cruz Azul
Goals scored	0	1
Total shots	16	8
Shots on target	1	4
Saves	3	1
Ball possession	65%	35%
Corner kicks	9	8
Fouls committed	5	13
Offsides	1	0
Yellow cards	0	0
Red cards	0	0

Second leg

30 May 2021

20:15 CDT (UTC−6)

Cruz Azul	1–1	Santos Laguna
Rodríguez 51'	Report	Valdés 37'

Estadio Azteca, Mexico City

Attendance: 21,016

Referee: Fernando Hernández Gómez (Mexico City)

Cruz Azul won 2–1 on aggregate.

Details

Cruz Azul^[22]^[23]

Santos Laguna^[22]^[23]


GK	1	José de Jesús Corona (c)
DF	24	Juan Escobar
DF	23	Pablo Aguilar
DF	4	Julio César Domínguez
DF	15	Ignacio Rivero		83'
MF	22	Rafael Baca
MF	31	Orbelín Pineda		46'
MF	7	Luis Romo
MF	28	Guillermo Fernández		63'
MF	25	Roberto Alvarado		46'
FW	21	Jonathan Rodríguez		87'
Substitutions:
GK	33	Sebastián Jurado
DF	5	Alexis Peña
DF	12	José Joaquín Martínez		87'
DF	16	Adrián Aldrete		63'
MF	11	Elías Hernández
MF	14	Misael Domínguez
MF	19	Yoshimar Yotún		46'
MF	9	Walter Montoya		83'
FW	17	Brayan Angulo
FW	29	Santiago Giménez	90+10'	46'
Manager:
Juan Reynoso


GK	1	Carlos Acevedo (c)
DF	8	Carlos Orrantia
DF	5	Félix Torres
DF	21	Dória	90+10'
DF	190	Omar Campos
MF	11	Fernando Gorriarán		56'
MF	6	Alan Cervantes
MF	7	Juan Ferney Otero		78'
MF	10	Diego Valdés
MF	32	Ayrton Preciado		69'
FW	19	Eduardo Aguirre		70'
Substitutions:
GK	25	Gibrán Lajud
DF	3	Ismael Govea
DF	20	Hugo Rodríguez
MF	22	Ronaldo Prieto		56'
MF	23	Andrés Ibargüen		69'
MF	27	Jesús Isijara
MF	202	Jordan Carrillo
FW	12	Alberto Ocejo		78'
FW	30	Ignacio Jeraldino
FW	192	Santiago Muñóz		70'
Manager:
Guillermo Almada

Assistant referees:^[24]
Alberto Morín Méndez (Chihuahua)
Karen Janet Díaz (Aguascalientes)
Fourth official:^[24]
Luis Enrique Santander (Guanajuato)
Video assistant referee:^[24]
Erick Yair Miranda (Guanajuato)
Assistant video assistant referee:^[24]
Marcos Quintero Huitrón (Jalisco)

Statistics

Statistic^[25]	Cruz Azul	Santos Laguna
Goals scored	1	1
Total shots	9	11
Shots on target	3	1
Saves	0	2
Ball possession	36%	64%
Corner kicks	6	8
Fouls committed	13	11
Offsides	0	0
Yellow cards	1	1
Red cards	0	0

Statistics

Goalscorers

There were 48 goals scored in 18 matches, for an average of 2.67 goals per match.

5 goals

Eduardo Aguirre (Santos Laguna)

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Anderson Santamaría (against Puebla)

Assists

3 assists

Ismael Sosa (Pachuca)

2 assists

1 assist

Notes

^ Includes the appearances of the original Jaguares de Chiapas franchise (2002–2013), which is how the franchise was previously known as.

References

^ ^a ^b "Reglamento de Competencia 2020–21" (PDF). ligamx.net. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
^ "Calendario del Guardianes 2021: Liga MX anuncia fechas de partidos y liguilla". Milenio.com. 16 December 2020. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
^ "Dueños votarán para que regrese el repechaje a la Liga MX". 10 June 2020.
^ Kujawa, Taylor (2021-05-18). "Liga MX Femenil: Tigres, Chivas set to square off in 2021 Guard1anes final". Her Football Hub. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
^ "Cruz Azul History". Retrieved 8 April 2021.
^ "América History". Retrieved 8 April 2021.
^ "Puebla History". 17 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
^ "Monterrey History". 16 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
^ "Santos Laguna History". 18 April 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
^ "León History". 30 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
^ "Atlas History". 30 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
^ "Pachuca History". 29 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
^ "Guadalajara History". 1 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
^ "Tigres UANL History". 1 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
^ "Toluca History". 1 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
^ "Querétaro History". 2 May 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
^ "Jaguares de Chiapas History". 2 May 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Santos Laguna vs. Cruz Azul - 27 May 2021 - Soccerway". soccerway.com.
^ ^a ^b MX, LIGA MX / ASCENSO. "Minuto a Minuto". ligamx.net.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "LIGA BBVA MX. Designaciones Arbitrales: Ida de la Final | Comisión de Árbitros FMF". Archived from the original on 2021-05-26. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
^ "Santos Laguna vs Cruz Azul stats – ESPNFC". ESPN. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Cruz Azul vs. Santos Laguna - 30 May 2021 - Soccerway". soccerway.com.
^ ^a ^b MX, LIGA MX / ASCENSO. "Minuto a Minuto". ligamx.net.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "LIGA BBVA MX. Designaciones Arbitrales: Vuelta de la Final | Comisión de Árbitros FMF". Archived from the original on 2021-05-28. Retrieved 2021-05-29.
^ "Cruz Azul vs Santos Laguna stats – ESPNFC". ESPN. Retrieved 30 May 2021.

[Jaguares-16] Includes the appearances of the original Jaguares de Chiapas franchise (2002–2013), which is how the franchise was previously known as.

[Rules-1] "Reglamento de Competencia 2020–21" (PDF). ligamx.net. Retrieved 2021-04-08.

[Milenio-2] "Calendario del Guardianes 2021: Liga MX anuncia fechas de partidos y liguilla". Milenio.com. 16 December 2020. Retrieved 2021-04-08.

[3] "Dueños votarán para que regrese el repechaje a la Liga MX". 10 June 2020.

[4] Kujawa, Taylor (2021-05-18). "Liga MX Femenil: Tigres, Chivas set to square off in 2021 Guard1anes final". Her Football Hub. Retrieved 2021-05-19.

[5] "Cruz Azul History". Retrieved 8 April 2021.

[6] "América History". Retrieved 8 April 2021.

[7] "Puebla History". 17 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.

[8] "Monterrey History". 16 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.

[9] "Santos Laguna History". 18 April 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.

[10] "León History". 30 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.

[11] "Atlas History". 30 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.

[12] "Pachuca History". 29 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.

[13] "Guadalajara History". 1 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.

[14] "Tigres UANL History". 1 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.

[15] "Toluca History". 1 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.

[17] "Querétaro History". 2 May 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2021.

[18] "Jaguares de Chiapas History". 2 May 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2021.

[Soccerway-19] "Santos Laguna vs. Cruz Azul - 27 May 2021 - Soccerway". soccerway.com.

[Uniforms-20] MX, LIGA MX / ASCENSO. "Minuto a Minuto". ligamx.net.

[officials-21] "LIGA BBVA MX. Designaciones Arbitrales: Ida de la Final | Comisión de Árbitros FMF". Archived from the original on 2021-05-26. Retrieved 2021-05-26.

[22] "Santos Laguna vs Cruz Azul stats – ESPNFC". ESPN. Retrieved 28 May 2021.

[Soccerway2-23] "Cruz Azul vs. Santos Laguna - 30 May 2021 - Soccerway". soccerway.com.

[Uniforms2-24] MX, LIGA MX / ASCENSO. "Minuto a Minuto". ligamx.net.

[officials2-25] "LIGA BBVA MX. Designaciones Arbitrales: Vuelta de la Final | Comisión de Árbitros FMF". Archived from the original on 2021-05-28. Retrieved 2021-05-29.

[26] "Cruz Azul vs Santos Laguna stats – ESPNFC". ESPN. Retrieved 30 May 2021.

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