Liga MX Wrap: Veracruz win thriller, stay top

Veracruz stayed on top of the Liga MX after a come-from-behind 3-2 win over nine-man Cruz Azul on Saturday.

Pablo Barrera got Cruz Azul off to a perfect start in the 31st minute and the away side managed to hold their lead until the second half.

A game-changing decision helped Veracruz back into the game as Cruz Azul midfielder Israel Castro conceded a penalty and was red-carded with Angel Reyna dispatching the spot-kick on 57 minutes, levelling the game at 1-1.

Only 10 minutes later Veracruz were in the lead when Jehu Chiapas struck before Reyna scored his second in the 77th minute.

There was more pain for Cruz Azul with substitute Sergio Napoles given his marching orders only five minutes after coming on in the 90th minute but they still managed a consolation goal when Adrian Cortes scored an own goal on 92 minutes.

A Hector Mancilla brace powered Morelia to a 2-1 win over Tijuana, despite playing the last 35 minutes with 10 men.

Chilean international Mancilla scored in the 12th and 50th minutes before Rodrigo Salinas was given a straight red card on 55 minutes.

Tijuana made use of their advantage, pulling a goal back through Ecuadorian substitute Francisco Martinez, but could not find the equaliser as Morelia stayed second in the standings.

Leon missed the chance to go outright top as they stumbled 1-1 at Pachuca.

Walter Ayovi crushed Leon’s chances of three points with a goal on 76 minutes but they did manage to secure a point through substitute Franco Arizala’s strike four minutes from time.

Santos Laguna moved to fourth position with a comfortable 2-0 home triumph against Queretaro.

Juan Pablo Rodriguez dispatched his penalty on 18 minutes before Oscar Peralta doubled the advantage in the 58th minute.

Queretaro’s comeback was made near-impossible by the 68th-minute sending off of midfielder Dionicio Escalante.

In other results on Saturday, America cantered to a 3-0 thrashing of Atlas, Chiapas scored four second-half goals to overcome Puebla 4-2 while Monterrey and Toluca fought out a 1-1 draw.

On Sunday, Tigres secured an important 2-0 away victory against Pumas and Guadalajara got their first win of the campaign with a 1-0 win against struggling Atlante.