Apertura 2018 Copa MX Final
# Apertura 2018 Copa MX Final

The Apertura 2018 Copa MX Final was the final of the Apertura 2018 Copa MX, the thirteenth edition of the Copa MX under its current format and 80th overall organized by the Mexican Football Federation, the governing body of association football in Mexico.

The final was contested in a single leg format between Liga MX clubs Monterrey and Cruz Azul. The match was hosted by Monterrey at Estadio BBVA Bancomer in the Monterrey suburb of Guadalupe on 31 October 2018. The winners earned a spot to face the winners of the Clausura 2019 in the 2019 Supercopa MX.

## Qualified teams

| Team | Previous finals appearances (bold indicates winners) |
| - | - |
| Monterrey | 4 (1964, 1969, 1992, Apertura 2017) |
| Cruz Azul | 5 (1969, 1974, 1988, 1997, Clausura 2013) |

## Venue

Due to the tournament's regulations, the higher seed among both finalists during the group stage will host the final, thus Estadio BBVA Bancomer hosted the final. The venue which opened on 2 August 2015 is the newest venue in Liga MX and has been home to Monterrey since the Apertura 2015 season. The venue has previously hosted two Liga MX finals (Clausura 2016 and Apertura 2017) and one Copa MX final (Apertura 2017).

## Background

Monterrey has won the tournament twice while Cruz Azul has won it three times. Before reaching this final, the last time Monterrey reached a reached a final of any kind was the previous December when they defeated Pachuca 1–0 to capture the Apertura 2017 Copa MX. Cruz Azul last reached a final back in 2014 where they defeated Toluca 1–1 (on away goals) in the 2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League final.

These two clubs last faced each other in a final back in 2009 when Monterrey won 6–4 on aggregate to capture the Apertura 2009 league title. The clubs also faced each other in the 1969 Copa México Final where Cruz Azul came out victorious.

Monterrey won three, drew once, lost none and scored nine goals during group stage, as they were seeded third. They eliminated Zacatepec in the Round of 16, Querétaro in the quarterfinals, and Pachuca in the semifinals.

Cruz Azul won two, drew one, lost one and scored seven goals during group stage, as they were seeded ninth. They defeated Tijuana in the Round of 16, Juárez in the quarterfinals, and León on penalty kicks in the semifinals.

## Road to the finals

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first.

| Monterrey | Monterrey | Monterrey | Monterrey | Round | Cruz Azul | Cruz Azul | Cruz Azul | Cruz Azul |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Opponent | Result | Result | Result | Group stage | Opponent | Result | Result | Result |
| Puebla | 2–1 (H) | 2–1 (H) | 2–1 (H) | Matchday 1 | Zacatepec | 3–2 (A) | 3–2 (A) | 3–2 (A) |
| Venados | 3–0 (A) | 3–0 (A) | 3–0 (A) | Matchday 2 | Atlas | 2–2 (H) | 2–2 (H) | 2–2 (H) |
| Puebla | 1–1 (A) | 1–1 (A) | 1–1 (A) | Matchday 3 | Zacatepec | 2–0 (H) | 2–0 (H) | 2–0 (H) |
| Venados | 3–2 (H) | 3–2 (H) | 3–2 (H) | Matchday 4 | Atlas | 0–1 (A) | 0–1 (A) | 0–1 (A) |
| Group 1 winners Pos Team Pld Pts 1 Monterrey 4 10 2 Puebla 4 7 3 Venados 4 0 Source: Copa MX | Group 1 winners Pos Team Pld Pts 1 Monterrey 4 10 2 Puebla 4 7 3 Venados 4 0 Source: Copa MX | Group 1 winners Pos Team Pld Pts 1 Monterrey 4 10 2 Puebla 4 7 3 Venados 4 0 Source: Copa MX | Group 1 winners Pos Team Pld Pts 1 Monterrey 4 10 2 Puebla 4 7 3 Venados 4 0 Source: Copa MX | Final standings | Group 6 winners Pos Team Pld Pts 1 Cruz Azul 4 7 2 Zacatepec 4 6 3 Atlas 4 4 Source: Copa MX | Group 6 winners Pos Team Pld Pts 1 Cruz Azul 4 7 2 Zacatepec 4 6 3 Atlas 4 4 Source: Copa MX | Group 6 winners Pos Team Pld Pts 1 Cruz Azul 4 7 2 Zacatepec 4 6 3 Atlas 4 4 Source: Copa MX | Group 6 winners Pos Team Pld Pts 1 Cruz Azul 4 7 2 Zacatepec 4 6 3 Atlas 4 4 Source: Copa MX |
| Opponent | Result | Result | Result | Knockout stage | Opponent | Opponent | Opponent | Result |
| Zacatepec | 4–2 (H) | 4–2 (H) | 4–2 (H) | Round of 16 | Tijuana | 2–1 (A) | 2–1 (A) | 2–1 (A) |
| Querétaro | 1–0 (H) | 1–0 (H) | 1–0 (H) | Quarterfinals | Juárez | 2–0 (H) | 2–0 (H) | 2–0 (H) |
| Pachuca | 3–3 (4–3 pen.) (H) | 3–3 (4–3 pen.) (H) | 3–3 (4–3 pen.) (H) | Semifinals | León | 1–1 (5–4 pen.) (H) | 1–1 (5–4 pen.) (H) | 1–1 (5–4 pen.) (H) |

## Match

| Monterrey | Cruz Azul |
| - | - |
| GK | 22 | Juan Pablo Carrizo |
| DF | 17 | Jesús Gallardo |
| DF | 23 | Johan Vásquez | 56' | 56' |
| DF | 15 | José María Basanta (c) | | 65' |
| DF | 21 | Jesús Molina |
| DF | 288 | Eric Cantú |
| MF | 16 | Celso Ortiz | 48' |
| MF | 29 | Carlos Rodríguez |
| FW | 286 | Daniel Lajud | | 57' |
| FW | 7 | Rogelio Funes Mori |
| FW | 8 | Dorlan Pabón |
| Substitutions: ||
| GK | 1 | Marcelo Barovero |
| DF | 6 | Edson Gutiérrez |
| DF | 11 | Leonel Vangioni |
| MF | 284 | Axel Grijalva | | 65' |
| FW | 18 | Avilés Hurtado | | 56' |
| FW | 19 | Luis Madrigal |
| FW | 20 | Rodolfo Pizarro | | 57' |
| Manager: ||
| Diego Alonso ||
| GK | 12 | Guillermo Allison |
| DF | 16 | Adrián Aldrete |
| DF | 2 | Pablo Aguilar |
| DF | 5 | Igor Lichnovsky | 19' |
| DF | 4 | Julio César Domínguez (c) |
| MF | 23 | Iván Marcone |
| MF | 8 | Javier Salas |
| MF | 14 | Misael Domínguez | | 79' |
| MF | 25 | Roberto Alvarado |
| MF | 11 | Elías Hernández | | 66' |
| FW | 9 | Milton Caraglio | | 46' |
| Substitutions: ||
| GK | 1 | José de Jesús Corona |
| DF | 19 | Antonio Sánchez | | 79' |
| DF | 27 | José Madueña |
| DF | 342 | Jorge Luis García |
| MF | 17 | Édgar Méndez | | 66' |
| MF | 22 | Rafael Baca |
| FW | 7 | Martín Cauteruccio | | 46' |
| Manager: ||
| Hélder Baptista ||

* Assistant referees:
* Marcos Quintero
* Israel Valenciano
* Fourth official:
* Alejandro Funk

## Broadcasters

| Country | Free | Pay | Ref |
| - | - | - | - |
| Mexico | Azteca 7 Canal 5 | ESPN 2 Fox Sports 2 Izzi TDN UnivisionTDN | |
| United States | | Fox Deportes |
