Liga MX week 4 recap: Club America finally wins, Pachuca leads

Henry Martin scored a hat-trick for Club America vs. Mazatlan.
Henry Martin scored a hat-trick for Club America vs. Mazatlan. / Jam Media/GettyImages
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Week four of the 2023 Liga MX Clausura did not disappoint.

Club America returned to its goalscoring ways of the 2022 Apertura, triumphing 6-0 over Mazatlan to earn their first victory of the tournament. Pachuca continues to leave behind the champions curse, defeating Necaxa 2-1. But elsewhere, teams weren't as dominate.

Here's everything you missed...


1. Club America triumphs

Henry Martin
Henry Martin leads Club America to victory with a hat-trick against Mazatlan. / Jam Media/GettyImages

After three weeks, Club America finally earned their first victory of the 2023 Liga MX Clausura. And it was a big one.

The Eagles defeated Mazatlan 6-0, with goals by Richard Sanchez, Jonathan Rodriguez, Diego Valdes and a hat-trick by Henry Martin to top it off.

It was a much needed victory, after managing three consecutive draws. But beyond results, club captain Henry Martin insisted the locker room always remained calm and steady.

"The locker room was never bad, it was always good. Perhaps today we did arrived more than in other games. In other games we were not concrete, today we were and that gave us the chance to score goals."

2. Pachuca leads

Kevin Álvarez
Pachuca triumph 2-1 over Necaxa. / Manuel Velasquez/GettyImages

Pachuca is hungry for another title.

The reigning Liga MX champions recorded their third victory of the tournament, defeating Necaxa 2-1 with goals from Gustavo Cabral and Javier Eduardo Lopez. The win propelled Pachuca to top of the Liga MX table, with nine points and a record of 3W-1L-0D.

Despite Tigres taking Nico Ibanez and Chivas signing Victor Guzman, Guillermo Almada's team seem to be doing just fine.

3. 11 vs. 9

Ignacio Ambriz
Ignacio Ambriz lamented the draw given Toluca's advantage over Leon. / Manuel Velasquez/GettyImages

Toluca vs. Club Leon may have ended with a 0-0 scoreline, but there is so much more to the story.

In the 37th minute, Lucas Di Yorio received a red card for a foul on Toluca's Fernando Navarro. He left Leon down to 10 players, forcing head coach Nicolas Larcamon to switch from an offensive to defensive stragety for the rest of the match. The team held on well, until a second red card in second half shook things up again.

The foul by Paul Bellon on Camilo Sanvezzo drew a straight red, giving Toluca yet another advantage. And still, Nacho Ambriz's side did not take advantage of the situation.

"We didn't know how to open that first lock that León made for us: he defended himself very well on the inside, we suddenly tried on the outside, with centers, medium-distance shots," said Ambriz.

"You leave with a bitter taste because you are at home against an opponent with two fewer players... Soccer is suddenly strange and we didn't know how to take advantage of the advantage we had."

4. In other news:

Diego Cocca
Diego Cocca struggles with Tigres. / Francisco Vega/GettyImages

- Chivas de Guadalajara finally earned a victory this weekend, defeating FC Juarez 2-1 with goals from Victor Guzman and Carlos Cisneros. It was just their second victory since the tournament started, after winning 1-0 against Monterrey on opening weekend.

- Tigres drew 0-0 against Atletico San Luis in a poor showing by the Diego Cocca's side. Despite a strong start to the tournament, the team managed their second consecutive draw to fall down in the table.