Cruz Azul routs Juárez 5-0 with five different scorers

Three minutes. That's all it took for Andrés Montaño to get the scoring going at Estadio Banorte, and there was no stopping Cruz Azul after that: the club ended up thrashing Juárez 5-0 in a Liga MX match that was essentially decided before halftime.

The home side came out with a clear plan to strike early, and it worked. Montaño finished with his left foot from close range off a cross from Agustín Palavecino, and before the clock hit the quarter-hour mark, Juárez had already been forced to deal with shots from Gonzalo Piovi and Nicolás Ibáñez. The second goal came in the 22nd minute: Carlos Rodríguez finished with his right foot from the middle of the box off an assist from Alan Mozo to make it 2-0. Juárez had its moments in response, with José Luis Rodríguez rattling the crossbar before the break, but the visitors headed to the locker room down on the scoreboard and unable to convert any of their chances.

The second half: the rout multiplies

If the first half had already settled the result, the second half tore it apart completely. Just after the restart, in the 47th minute, Omar Campos extended the lead with a shot from distance that found the center of the net. Seven minutes later, Agustín Palavecino, this time as the scorer rather than the provider, made it 4-0 with a right-footed strike that slipped in on the right side of the goal. Juárez, meanwhile, couldn't turn its persistence down the flanks into anything more than corner kicks: the visitors finished with eight in their favor, but not one led to a goal.

The fifth goal came in the 74th minute off the boot of Rogelio González, who had come on at halftime for Alan Mozo: a right-footed shot from outside the box that hugged the left post on its way in to close out the scoring at 5-0.

The numbers behind the beatdown

The stats back up what was clear on the field: a Cruz Azul side that was sharper and more clinical in the final third.

The corner count stands out: Juárez racked up eight to the home side's two, but that persistence out wide never translated into real danger. According to our estimate based on the match's shots, Cruz Azul generated 2.71 expected goals to Juárez's 1.01, a gap that explains why the scoreline ended up so lopsided even though the visitors had more shots than their offensive output would suggest.

What the preview said versus what happened on the field

Before the match, the projection published by EnPelotas gave Cruz Azul a 68% chance of winning, with 19% for a draw and just 13% for a Juárez victory. The expected goals we had on the books were 2.5 for the home side and 1.06 for the visitors. The result didn't just confirm the favorite's status, it blew past it. Cruz Azul not only won as expected, it scored double the goals that had been projected.

What it means in the standings

In the table, Cruz Azul came into this match in fifth place with 20 points from 12 matches played (six wins, two draws and four losses), while Juárez closed out the matchday rooted at the bottom, with just 4 points from 12 outings (one win, one draw and ten losses). The gap between the two sides before kickoff stood at 16 points, a distance this rout only confirmed on the field.

For Cruz Azul, an offensive showcase with five different scorers and a dominance that was never in question. For Juárez, another night to forget in a season that was already in rough shape.