The first round of the group stages of the 2015 Copa Libertadores finished differently for Mexico’s only two representatives. Atlas suffered a demoralizing defeat, while Tigre’s snatched a great win. Way to go, Tigres.
Regardless of how Tigres is doing domestically, it’s great to see a Mexican side fare well in the South American competition. Tigre’s managed to beat Peru’s Juan Aurich 3-0 at home. That’s a great result which leaves them in 1st in their group. Tigres’ Group 6 consists of Bolivia’s San Jose, Argentina’s River Plate, and Peru’s Juan Aurich. San Jose sits in second place, having beaten River Plate 2-0. Tough for the Argentine team but in any case, Tigres will face an opponent looking to turn things around in River Plate. The 2nd round of group matches will be an exciting one.
Atlas, on the other hand, failed at home. The team’s fans were not happy to see their team slump to a 1-0 loss against Colombia’s Santa Fe. It’s a tough loss for Atlas especially, considering the match took place at home. Mexican sides have a hard time with away matches in the South American competition, which is why it’s important to win every home match. The result leaves Atlas in 3rd place in group 1. At least they’re not at the bottom of their group. Hopefully they’ll have a better result in their next match against Brazil’s Atletico Mineiro. Atletico also lost their first match, so both teams will be looking for a result in the 2nd round of the group stage. Atlas is joined in Group 1 by Atletico Mineiro in 4th, Chile’s Colo-Colo in 1st, and Santa Fe in 3rd.
Atlas failed to win at home against Colombia's Santa Fe. Photo: UnivisionSports | Twitter
If only Morelia would have made it past The Strongest of Bolivia, Mexico would have had another team representing La Liga MX. Although it arguably might be best in the long run to not have Morelia in the competition, considering their domestic form (sitting at the bottom of the Clausura table). With a domestic campaign in shambles it would have been terrible to see Los Monarcas fail to represent Liga MX well in South America.
Let’s hope Atlas makes a comeback in the competition and Tigres continues to roar through!
