Liga MX Apertura 2024 has upped its stakes this week. The regular season came to an end and with it the postseason began.

While six teams eagerly await the start of the quarterfinals, four teams compete in the play-in knowing only two teams will survive.

Last night, Tijuana hosted Club América, with the winning team sealing their place in the postseason by setting up a double-header against Toluca.

The other match welcomed a Clásico Tapatío as Chivas welcomed city rivals Atlas to the Estadio Akron. The loser would be knocked out of the quarterfinals, while the other would advance to the final test, where they would face the loser of Tijuana and Club América for the final spot in the playoffs and the chance to face Cruz Azul.

Los Xolos were the highest ranked team in the Play-In and were given home field advantage thanks to the visit of the reigning Apertura champions.

Their home advantage was palpable early on as Unai Bilbao put Tijuana ahead within the first fifteen minutes and they would take that lead into half-time.

In the second half, Las Águilas wasted no time getting back into the game as Brian Rodríguez fired the visitors back into the game. As long as they celebrated their equalizer, however, it would take just as long for Los half substitute.

Tijuana looked confident of claiming the seventh seed and getting the honor of facing Toluca in the next round, but an extra-time equalizer for Cristian Broja brought América back into the match, much to the despair of Los Xolos. América even looked to have secured victory in the 95th minute when Ález Zendejas put the ball in the back of the net, but a VAR check confirmed the 26-year-old used his arm to do so.

Penalty shootout

A shootout was needed to decide who from Tijuana or Club América would claim the seventh seed and face Toluca in the Apertura quarter-finals.

After the first round of penalties, it was an advantage for the visitors, with Rodríguez scoring again as Christian Rivera looked on as Luís Malagón saved his effort.

Shortly afterwards it was a double advantage for the reigning Apertura champions when Israel Reyes converted, but Emmanuel Reynoso fired his effort over the bar.

América looked at home and dry, as long as they could keep putting the ball in the back of the net. However, the next penalty, Zendejas, who appeared to have sealed América’s victory before his goal was disallowed, had his penalty saved by José Rodríguez for Tijuana.

Bilbao managed to bring Tijuana back into the shootout and the tie seemed to revive when Álvaro Fidalgo missed a second penalty in a row for Las Águilas.

Two misses each and Jesús Gomez continued to keep Tijuana level, but Rodrigo Aguirre managed to handle the pressure to keep América’s dreams alive.

The decisive penalty came when Aaron Meija saw his penalty kept out by Malagón, announcing Club América as the eventual winners.

If you enjoy this Liga MX content, be sure to check out:

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Club América’s victory in the other play-in match would mean that the winner between these two would face Tijuana in the final match and get the chance to face Cruz Azul in the quarterfinals.

The pressure was on for both teams as Chivas failed to beat a single team in Apertura’s top ten, while Atlas failed to record a win in any of their last six matches and only one win in their last ten matches even though that victory came in this match, at Estadio Akron.

As the first half drew to a close, the tension was palpable, with both teams heading to the dressing rooms locked in a goalless stalemate.

The first major decision of the match was made on the hour mark when Matheus Doria was penalized for a tackle in his own penalty area, giving Chivas a penalty. Victor Gúzman stepped up and shot past Camilo Vargas.

Once again a key moment occurred in the final five minutes of the match when Chivas defender José Castillo gifted Atlas a way back into the match with a poor deflection effort to beat Raúl Rángel in the Chivas net.

The match was well balanced and there would be another shootout to decide the fate of both teams, but that was before the chaos that followed at the end of the match. Antonio Briseno received a second yellow card in the 90 plus 12th minute, because Atlas itself received a penalty.

Aldo Rocha stepped up and calmly smashed his effort through the middle, but as the midfielder ran off to celebrate, a brawl broke out at the side, resulting in a straight red card for Chicharito, along with Atlas’ Luis Reyes.

Although the match only saw three goals, Atlas hit back late in the match and had the courage to win even late in extra time. The late drama included three red cards as Reyes will now be unavailable for selection while his Atlas teammates travel north to take on Tijuana.

What did you think of the two Play-In matches? Let us know!