Cruz Azul closed out the Apertura season with a dominating 3-1 win over Club America Saturday at Estadio Azul.

Emanuel Villa put La Maquina on the board with a first-minute header, and finished with a brace to help Cruz Azul (8-5-2, 29 pts) to a second-place finish in the final standings.

Villa’s goals sandwiched a 62nd-minute tally by Javier Orozco, who sealed the win off Javier Aquino’s second assist of the match. Daniel Montenegro saved America – who finished second from the bottom of the table at 3-6-8 (15 pts) – from a shutout by converting a penalty kick in the 80th minute.

Cruz Azul 3, America 1

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Carlos Bueno Helps Queretaro Stop Cruz Azul 1-0

Queretaro stalled Cruz Azul's progress at the top, edging out a 1-0 victory, though it probably should have been two if not for a wrongly-disallowed goal by Carlos Bueno.

The home side started out well and should have had its lead on 28 minutes as Carlos Bueno broke the offside trap to redirect a looping ball over the top past Yosgart Gutierrez. The Uruguayan was flagged for offside, despite replays showing he was clearly onside, with a different Queretaro player in an offside position, but not involved in the play.

Despite fierce pressure from Queretaro throughout the game and a 68th minute red card to Javier Orozco for a tackle from behind, it looked like Cruz Azul would escape the venue it had not won at since 2003 with a point. However, in the 88th minute, Julio Cesar Dominguez was adjudged to have fouled Bueno in the area, with the striker going on to convert the penalty himself to earn his team all three points.

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Cruz Azul Handles Puebla 2-0 to Take Second Spot in Apertura

Javier Orozco led Cruz Azul to a 2-0 victory over Puebla, moving the capital side level on points with leader Tigres, which has a better goal differential. After a first half which Puebla slightly edged, Cruz Azul had a pair of shouts for a penalty and red card turned down by referee Cesar Ramos, who did not have the best of games. Nonetheless, Orozco, a 72nd minute substitute came through for the home side with a pair of goals in the 77th and 90th minutes – the first a header from a corner and the second a placed finish – to give his team all three points.

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Santos Laguna 1-0 Cruz Azul | Via Goal.com

Santos edged closer to the top spot and denied Cruz Azul a chance to summit the table with a 1-0 win in Torreon. Santos is now unbeaten in seven games in all competitions, while Cruz Azul continues to search for solutions to its inconsistency.

The home side poured on the pressure in the early goings, and after being denied twice by good saves from Jose de Jesus Corona found a way through in the 21st minute. Christian Suarez found Oribe Peralta, who took a couple nifty touches, creating enough space for him to finish past Corona with the outside of his right foot.

After poor finishing marked the rest of the first half, some excellent defending prevented more goals in the second. Jorge Estrada made an excellent block off the line to deny Christian Gimenez, while Corona continued to frustrate Santos' attackers. At the final whistle, Santos emerged with a valuable three points despite not always looking comfortable, being let off at the hook at times by Cruz Azul's poor finishing.

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CRUZ AZUL 1, CHIVAS 1

Cruz Azul and Chivas de Guadalajara moved into a tie with Jaguares at the top of the Apertura table with Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Estadio Azul.

The result leaves both teams at 5-3-2, with 18 points.

Omar Arellano gave Chivas a 1-0 lead in the 32nd minute, off Marco Fabian’s pass from the Goats’ side of midfield. But a 52nd-minute red card to midfielder Miguel Ponce left Guadalajara a man down, and Edixon Perea took advantage to level the score for La Maquina with a header in the 62nd minute. Cruz Azul might well have taken all three points, but halftime substitute Javier Orozco had two goals called back.

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Cruz Control: Cruz Azul Down Pumas to Capture First Place

Adrian Cortes scored a second-half goal as Cruz Azul claimed a 2-1 victory in the Mexico City to move into first place in the Mexican first division.

Gerardo Flores opened for Cruz Azul in the 18th minute before Martin Bravo leveled with a header four minutes later for the defending champion.

Pumas' Luis Fuentes was sent off in the 58th and Cruz Azul took advantage with Cortes' winner in the 75th.

Expect Cruz Azul to hang on to the top spot for at least another week, as they are set to face second-to-last in standing team, Morelia, on Thursday.

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Cruz Azul reaches third place in the 2011 Apertura Standings with win Over Xolos

Cruz Azul positioned themselves in third place in the Apertura standings with a 2-1 win over Tijuana.

Xolo Midfielder Dayro Moreno put Tijuana ahead with a well placed shot in the 22nd minute. However, Cruz Azul's Edixon Perea rallied the Blue Machine and evened the match 1-1 with 48 minutes elapsed.

Despite earning a red card 13 minutes from time, Emanuel Villa scored the winning goal for his side with a excellent tally that sealed the third place standing in the 2011 Apertura standings.

Cruz Azul has no time to relax as they face a dangerous Pumas squad on Sunday August 28th. The Pumas are coming off two major losses and will be looking for a convincing win over the next opponent.

Although the Tijuana Xolos have surprised some with their inspired play, their win total is less than desirable. Tijuana has a chance to right the ship next weekend against a struggling Queretaro squad.

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Unam Pumas drops first points of season

Unam Pumas dropped its first points of the young Apertura season but remain top of the table after a goalless draw at Guadalajara.

With 10 points from four matches, it retains a one-point advantage over Monterrey, which left it late to beat Morelia 2-0 with Humberto Suazo scoring in the 85th minute before Dario Carreno made sure in the final minute.

Guadalajara sit third with seven points, now joined by Cruz Azul which scored either side of half-time to beat Atlante 2-1.

Emanuel Villa put it ahead in the 45th minute before Javier Orozco Penuelas doubled the advantage three minutes into the second half.

Giancarlo Maldonado got one back for the visitor in the 55th minute but it could not equalise.

CREDIT: Fox Soccer 

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Cruz Azul Comes from behind to beat Atlas 2-1 in a wild finish

Cruz Azul came from behind beating a formidable Atlas squad 2-1 with second-half strikes from Adrian Cortes and Emanuel Villa.

After Hugo Rodriguez had put the visitors ahead, Wilmer Aguirre scored a penalty in the last minute to give San Luis a 2-1 win over Tecos.

The teams exchanged goals through Jose Joel Gonzalez and Herculez Gomez, but the match came to life in a wild finish which saw San Luis' Michael Orozco and Tecos' Juan Carlos Leano ejected, as well as Aguirre's penalty.

This weekend Cruz Azul will take on Pachuca in what could be a dogfight.

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UANL Tigres Vs. Cruz Azul, 2011 Apertura: Lineups

Cruz Azul lineup: Gutierrez; Pinto, Cortes, Dominguez, Castro, Flores; Torrado, Castro; Drougett, Villaluz; Villa

UANL Tigres lineup: Palos; Torres Nilo, Rivas, Ayala, Jimenez; Alvarez, Toledo, Viniegra, Danilinho; Lobos; Mancilla

The game kicks off at 8:00 pm ET from Estadio Universitario. If you live in the USA, the game is in Telemundo

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Primera Divison opener: Cruz Azul vs. UANL Tigres July 23

Cruz Azul will begin their season on July 23, 2011 against UANL to open the Primera Division's Apertura tournament. The Blue Machine will be a tough task for UANL as the Tigres are a middle of the road team at best. However, look for UNAL's Lucas Lobos to make an impact.

Lobos started all but two matches for Tigres over the past two seasons and is the key player for Tigres front four. As the team's captain, he’s a great distributor of the ball, as well as a solid scorer. Lobos will turn 30 in August, but that shouldn't slow down his high level play.

For Cruz Azul I am looking forward to seeing the goalkeeping of José de Jesús Corona. Corona signed with Cruz Azul for 3 years. That same year he helped Cruz Azul reach the league final against CF Monterrey, finishing runners-up.

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