Apertura 2022 Liga MX final phase

The Apertura 2022 Liga MX final phase^[1] was played between 8 October and 30 October 2022.^[2] A total of twelve teams competed in the final phase to decide the champions of the Apertura 2022 Liga MX season.^[2] For the fifth straight season, an additional qualifying round, the reclassification or repechaje, was employed, which expanded the number of playoff spots to twelve.

Apertura 2022 Liga MX final phase

Tournament details
Dates	8–30 October 2022
Teams	12
Tournament statistics
Matches played	18
Goals scored	61 (3.39 per match)
Attendance	587,175 (32,621 per match)
← Clausura 2022 Clausura 2023 →

Both finalists qualified for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup.

Due to the 2022 FIFA World Cup being held in November and December, the Apertura 2022 regular season and final phase began earlier than previous seasons. As a result, the final was held on 30 October 2022 and not in the middle of December.^[3]

Pachuca defeated Toluca 8–2 on aggregate to win their seventh league title. As winners, Pachuca faced UANL, the Clausura 2023 champions, in the 2023 Campeón de Campeones.

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	América	38	6 September 2022 (REC) 16 September 2022 (QF)	37th	Clausura 2022	Champions (5 times)	[4]
2	Monterrey	35	6 September 2022 (REC) 16 September 2022 (QF)	27th		Champions (4 times)	[5]
3	Santos Laguna	33	6 September 2022 (REC) 2 October 2022 (QF)	34th	Apertura 2021	Champions (6 times)	[6]
4	Pachuca	32	7 September 2022 (REC) 18 September 2022 (QF)	38th	Clausura 2022	Champions (5 times)	[7]

Qualified to Reclassification round (8 teams)

Seed	Team	Points (GD)	Date of qualification	Appearance	Last appearance	Previous best	Ref.
5	UANL	30	13 September 2022	30th	Clausura 2022	Champions (5 times)	[8]
6	Toluca	27	16 September 2022	36th	Apertura 2021	Champions (7 times)	[9]
7	Cruz Azul	24 (–8)	23 September 2022	33rd	Clausura 2022	Champions (2 times)	[10]
8	Puebla	22 (+2, 24 GF)	23 September 2022	12th		Semi-finals (3 times)	[11]
9	Guadalajara	22 (+2, 19 GF)	18 September 2022	29th		Champions (3 times)	[12]
10	León	21	23 September 2022	15th	Apertura 2021	Champions (3 times)	[13]
11	Juárez	19 (–1)	1 October 2022	1st	Debut	—
12	Necaxa	19 (–7)	2 October 2022	20th	Clausura 2022	Champions (Invierno 1998)	[14]

Format

Reclassification

• All rounds were played in a single match hosted by the higher seed.
• If a match ended in a draw, it proceeded directly to a penalty shoot-out.

Liguilla

• Teams were re-seeded each round.
• The winners of the reclassification matches were seeded based on their ranking in the classification table.
• Team with more goals on aggregate after two matches advanced.
• No away goals rule was applied in either round; if the two teams were tied on aggregate, the higher seeded team advanced.
• In the final, if the two teams were tied after both legs, the match went to extra time and, if necessary, a penalty shoot-out.
• Both finalists qualified for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup.^[1]

Reclassification

Summary

Matches took place on 8–9 October 2022.

Team 1	Score	Team 2
UANL	2–0	Necaxa
Toluca	3–0	Juárez
Cruz Azul	1–0	León
Puebla	1–1 (5–4 p)	Guadalajara

Matches

8 October 2022

19:00 CDT (UTC−5)

UANL	2–0	Necaxa
Gignac 60', 73'	Report

Estadio Universitario, San Nicolás de los Garza

Attendance: 36,585

Referee: César Arturo Ramos (Sinaloa)

---

8 October 2022

21:15 CDT (UTC−5)

Cruz Azul	1–0	León
Rivero 72'	Report

Estadio Azteca, Mexico City

Attendance: 22,291

Referee: Fernando Guerrero (Mexico City)

---

9 October 2022

12:00 CDT (UTC−5)

Toluca	3–0	Juárez
Sanvezzo 23' González 46' Ruiz 90+2'	Report

Estadio Nemesio Díez, Toluca

Attendance: 25,069

Referee: Marco Antonio Ortiz (Durango)

---

9 October 2022

16:30 CDT (UTC−5)

Puebla	1–1	Guadalajara
Barragán 58'	Report	Cisneros 90+6'
Penalties
de Buen Mancuello Martínez Reyes Escoto	5–4	Vega Mozo Ormeño Angulo Zaldívar

Estadio Cuauhtémoc, Puebla

Attendance: 43,135

Referee: Luis Enrique Santander (Guanajuato)

Seeding

The following is 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	Host
1	América	17	12	2	3	37	16	+21	38	Hosts second leg
2	Monterrey	17	10	5	2	29	13	+16	35
3	Santos Laguna	17	10	3	4	38	21	+17	33
4	Pachuca	17	9	5	3	28	15	+13	32
5	UANL	17	9	3	5	24	14	+10	30	Hosts first leg
6	Toluca	17	7	6	4	27	23	+4	27
7	Cruz Azul	17	7	3	7	26	34	−8	24
8	Puebla	17	4	10	3	24	22	+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							Final
	2	Monterrey	0	3	3
	7	Cruz Azul	0	0	0
								2	Monterrey	2	0	2
								4	Pachuca	5	1	6
	4	Pachuca (s)	0	2	2
	5	UANL	1	1	2
															4	Pachuca	5	3	8
															6	Toluca	1	1	2
	1	América	6	5	11
	8	Puebla	1	1	2
								1	América	1	1	2
								6	Toluca	2	1	3
	3	Santos Laguna	3	1	4
	6	Toluca	4	2	6

Quarter-finals

Summary

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

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Puebla	2–11	América	1–6	1–5
Cruz Azul	0–3	Monterrey	0–0	0–3
Toluca	6–4	Santos Laguna	4–3	2–1
UANL	2–2 (s)	Pachuca	1–0	1–2

Matches

First leg

12 October 2022

19:30^[a] CDT (UTC−5)

Puebla	1–6	América
Cortizo 14'	Report	Valdés 31' Martín 33', 57' Zendejas 65' B. Rodríguez 77' Viñas 90+2'

Estadio Cuauhtémoc, Puebla

Attendance: 44,471

Referee: Marco Antonio Ortiz (Durango)

1. Kickoff was scheduled for 19:06 and was postponed to 19:30 due to heavy rainfall prior to the start of the match.^[15]

---

12 October 2022

21:06 CDT (UTC−5)

Cruz Azul	0–0	Monterrey
	Report

Estadio Azteca, Mexico City

Attendance: 24,571

Referee: Víctor Cáceres Hernández (Chiapas)

---

13 October 2022

19:06 CDT (UTC−5)

Toluca	4–3	Santos Laguna
González 4' Sanvezzo 6', 73' Volpi 90+2' (pen.)	Report	Gorriarán 30' (pen.) Preciado 38' Aguirre 49'

Estadio Nemesio Díez, Toluca

Attendance: 24,161

Referee: Diego Montaño Robles (Jalisco)

---

13 October 2022

21:06 CDT (UTC−5)

UANL	1–0	Pachuca
Gignac 88' (pen.)	Report

Estadio Universitario, San Nicolás de los Garza

Attendance: 40,487

Referee: Fernando Hernández Gómez (Mexico City)

Second leg

15 October 2022

18:06 CDT (UTC−5)

Monterrey	3–0	Cruz Azul
Berterame 20' Funes Mori 85' Gallardo 90+4'	Report

Estadio BBVA, Guadalupe

Attendance: 39,578

Referee: Adonai Escobedo (Aguascalientes)

Monterrey won 3–0 on aggregate.

---

15 October 2022

20:06 CDT (UTC−5)

América	5–1	Puebla
B. Rodríguez 21' Martín 27' Martínez 50' Fidalgo 60' Layún 85' (pen.)	Report	Araujo 35'

Estadio Azteca, Mexico City

Attendance: 44,298

Referee: Daniel Quintero Huitrón (Jalisco)

América won 11–2 on aggregate.

---

16 October 2022

19:06 CDT (UTC−5)

Santos Laguna	1–2	Toluca
Gorriarán 90+6'	Report	Meneses 47' Mosquera 50'

Estadio Corona, Torreón

Attendance: 23,851

Referee: Luis Enrique Santander (Guanajuato)

Toluca won 6–4 on aggregate.

---

16 October 2022

21:06 CDT (UTC−5)

Pachuca	2–1	UANL
Guzmán 19' López 68'	Report	Pizarro 64'

Estadio Hidalgo, Pachuca

Attendance: 15,565

Referee: Fernando Guerrero (Mexico City)

2–2 on aggregate. Pachuca advanced due to being the higher seed in the classification table.

Semi-finals

Summary

The first legs were played on 19–20 October, and the second legs were played on 22–23 October.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Toluca	3–2	América	2–1	1–1
Pachuca	6–2	Monterrey	5–2	1–0

Matches

First leg

19 October 2022

21:06 CDT (UTC−5)

Toluca	2–1	América
Ortega 23' Fernández 42' (pen.)	Report	Lara 79'

Estadio Nemesio Díez, Toluca

Attendance: 27,273

Referee: Marco Antonio Ortiz (Durango)

---

20 October 2022

21:06 CDT (UTC−5)

Pachuca	5–2	Monterrey
Ibáñez 9', 86' (pen.), 90+2' Ibarra 23' Paulino 47'	Report	Moreno 16' Romo 42'

Estadio Hidalgo, Pachuca

Attendance: 13,235

Referee: César Arturo Ramos (Sinaloa)

Second leg

22 October 2022

20:06 CDT (UTC−5)

América	1–1	Toluca
Zendejas 35'	Report	Torres Nilo 29'

Estadio Azteca, Mexico City

Attendance: 62,945

Referee: Adonai Escobedo (Aguascalientes)

Toluca won 3–2 on aggregate.

---

23 October 2022

20:06 CDT (UTC−5)

Monterrey	0–1	Pachuca
	Report	Hurtado 90+5' (pen.)

Estadio BBVA, Guadalupe

Attendance: 51,348

Referee: Luis Enrique Santander (Guanajuato)

Pachuca won 6–2 on aggregate.

Final

Summary

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

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Toluca	2–8	Pachuca	1–5	1–3

First leg

27 October 2022

20:06 CDT (UTC−5)

Toluca	1–5	Pachuca
Sierra 78'	Report	Ibarra 8', 36' Cabral 13' Isais 41' Ibáñez 53'

Estadio Nemesio Díez, Toluca

Attendance: 27,273

Referee: Marco Antonio Ortiz (Durango)

Details

Toluca[16][17]

Pachuca[16][17]

GK 1 Tiago Volpi DF 26 Andrés Mosquera  12' DF 24 Haret Ortega  46' DF 4 Valber Huerta DF 5 Carlos Guzmán  74' MF 10 Leonardo Fernández MF 23 Claudio Baeza (c)  68' MF 14 Marcel Ruiz  90+1' MF 16 Jean Meneses  74' FW 7 Camilo Sanvezzo  46' FW 32 Carlos González  53' Substitutions: GK 12 Gustavo Gutiérrez DF 6 Jorge Torres Nilo DF 20 Jorge Rodríguez DF 21 Brayan Angulo  46' MF 8 Sebastian Saucedo MF 11 Daniel Álvarez  53' MF 15 Jordan Sierra  74' MF 18 Fernando Navarro  46' MF 27 Alan Rodríguez FW 190 Isaías Violante  74' Manager: Ignacio Ambríz

GK 5 Oscar Ustari (c) DF 2 Kevin Álvarez DF 22 Gustavo Cabral DF 23 Óscar Murillo DF 85 Mauricio Isais MF 10 Érick Sánchez MF 24 Luis Chávez MF 19 Paulino  2'  58' MF 6 Víctor Guzmán  63' MF 30 Romario Ibarra  58' FW 7 Nicolás Ibáñez  73' Substitutions: GK 25 Carlos Moreno DF 4 Miguel Tapias DF 14 José Castillo MF 16 Javier Eduardo López  58' MF 11 Avilés Hurtado  58' MF 18 Marino Hinestroza MF 88 Pedro Pedraza MF 100 Israel Luna  63' FW 9 Roberto de la Rosa FW 90 Illian Hernández  73' Manager: Guillermo Almada

Assistant referees:[18] Christian Kiabek Espinosa (Mexico City) Jorge Antonio Sánchez (Estado de México) Fourth official:[18] Fernando Guerrero (Mexico City) Video assistant referee:[18] Fernando Hernández Gómez (Mexico City) Assistant video assistant referee:[18] Michel Ricardo Espinoza (Mexico City)

Statistics

Statistic[19]	Toluca	Pachuca
Goals scored	1	5
Total shots	21	14
Shots on target	5	6
Saves	1	4
Ball possession	62%	38%
Corner kicks	11	4
Fouls committed	15	16
Offsides	1	2
Yellow cards	3	1
Red cards	0	0

Second leg

30 October 2022

19:36 CST (UTC−6)

Pachuca	3–1	Toluca
Guzmán 45+3' Ibáñez 53' Cabral 75' (pen.)	Report	López 21'

Estadio Hidalgo, Pachuca

Attendance: 21,080

Referee: Adonai Escobedo (Aguascalientes)

Pachuca won 8–2 on aggregate.

Details

Pachuca[20][21]

Toluca[20][21]

GK 5 Oscar Ustari (c) DF 2 Kevin Álvarez DF 22 Gustavo Cabral  27' DF 23 Óscar Murillo DF 85 Mauricio Isais MF 10 Érick Sánchez MF 24 Luis Chávez  63'  80' MF 19 Paulino  69' MF 6 Víctor Guzmán  79' MF 30 Romario Ibarra  69' FW 7 Nicolás Ibáñez  49'  82' Substitutions: GK 25 Carlos Moreno DF 4 Miguel Tapias DF 14 José Castillo MF 16 Javier Eduardo López  79' MF 11 Avilés Hurtado  69' MF 18 Marino Hinestroza  69' MF 86 Jahaziel Marchand MF 100 Israel Luna  80' FW 9 Roberto de la Rosa  82' FW 90 Illian Hernández Manager: Guillermo Almada

GK 1 Tiago Volpi DF 2 Raúl López  11'  46' DF 26 Andrés Mosquera DF 4 Valber Huerta DF 21 Brayan Angulo  46' MF 23 Claudio Baeza (c)  77' MF 14 Marcel Ruiz MF 10 Leonardo Fernández  66' MF 18 Fernando Navarro  46' MF 16 Jean Meneses  60' FW 32 Carlos González Substitutions: GK 12 Gustavo Gutiérrez DF 6 Jorge Torres Nilo DF 20 Jorge Rodríguez  66' DF 24 Haret Ortega  50'  46' MF 8 Sebastian Saucedo MF 11 Daniel Álvarez  46' MF 15 Jordan Sierra MF 27 Alan Rodríguez  77' FW 7 Camilo Sanvezzo  66'  46' FW 190 Isaías Violante Manager: Ignacio Ambríz

Assistant referees:[22] Karen Janet Díaz (Aguascalientes) Miguel Ángel Hernández (Puebla) Fourth official:[22] Luis Enrique Santander (Guanajuato) Video assistant referee:[22] César Arturo Ramos (Sinaloa) Assistant video assistant referee:[22] Alberto Morín Méndez (Chihuahua)

Statistics

Statistic[23]	Pachuca	Toluca
Goals scored	3	1
Total shots	22	8
Shots on target	8	2
Saves	1	5
Ball possession	40%	60%
Corner kicks	7	3
Fouls committed	15	13
Offsides	1	1
Yellow cards	3	4
Red cards	0	0

Statistics

Goalscorers

There were 61 goals scored in 18 matches, for an average of 3.39 goals per match.

5 goals

• Nicolás Ibáñez (Pachuca)

3 goals

• André-Pierre Gignac (UANL)
• Romario Ibarra (Pachuca)
• Henry Martín (América)
• Camilo Sanvezzo (Toluca)

2 goals

• Gustavo Cabral (Pachuca)
• Carlos González (Toluca)
• Fernando Gorriarán (Santos Laguna)
• Víctor Guzmán (Pachuca)
• Brian Rodríguez (América)
• Alejandro Zendejas (América)

1 goal

• Eduardo Aguirre (Santos Laguna)
• Maximiliano Araújo (Puebla)
• Martín Barragán (Puebla)
• Germán Berterame (Monterrey)
• Carlos Cisneros (Guadalajara)
• Jordi Cortizo (Puebla)
• Paulino (Pachuca)
• Leonardo Fernández (Toluca)
• Álvaro Fidalgo (América)
• Rogelio Funes Mori (Monterrey)
• Jesús Gallardo (Monterrey)
• Avilés Hurtado (Pachuca)
• Mauricio Isais (Pachuca)
• Emilio Lara (América)
• Miguel Layún (América)
• Javier Eduardo López (Pachuca)
• Raúl López (Toluca)
• Roger Martínez (América)
• Jean Meneses (Toluca)
• Héctor Moreno (Monterrey)
• Andrés Mosquera (Toluca)
• Haret Ortega (Toluca)
• Guido Pizarro (UANL)
• Harold Preciado (Santos Laguna)
• Ignacio Rivero (Cruz Azul)
• Luis Romo (Monterrey)
• Marcel Ruiz (Toluca)
• Jordan Sierra (Toluca)
• Jorge Torres Nilo (Toluca)
• Diego Valdés (América)
• Federico Viñas (América)
• Tiago Volpi (Toluca)

Assists

3 assists

• Carlos González (Toluca)
• Víctor Guzmán (Pachuca)

2 assists

• Leonardo Fernández (Toluca)
• Romario Ibarra (Pachuca)
• Matías Kranevitter (Monterrey)
• Roger Martínez (América)
• Fernando Navarro (Toluca)

1 assist

• Daniel Álvarez (Toluca)
• Brayan Angulo (Toluca)
• Jesús Angulo (Guadalajara)
• Néstor Araujo (América)
• Juan Brunetta (Santos Laguna)
• Omar Campos (Santos Laguna)
• Luis Chávez (Pachuca)
• Paulino (Pachuca)
• Raymundo Fulgencio (UANL)
• André-Pierre Gignac (UANL)
• Alfonso González (Monterrey)
• Jair González (Santos Laguna)
• Marino Hinestroza (Pachuca)
• Federico Mancuello (Puebla)
• Henry Martín (América)
• Emilio Martínez (Puebla)
• Jean Meneses (Toluca)
• Óscar Murillo (Pachuca)
• Fernando Navarro (Toluca)
• Guillermo Ochoa (América)
• Brian Rodríguez (América)
• Jonathan Rodríguez (América)
• Érick Sánchez (Pachuca)
• Richard Sánchez (América)
• Diego Valdés (América)
• Federico Viñas (América)
• Tiago Volpi (Toluca)

Notes