Cruz Azul, when they most needed their expensive reinforcements like the Argentine Jose Paradela to step up, he resolved the match against Monterrey, which threatened to To make things complicated for them, they tied 1-1 against Rayados, thus placing themselves in the Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals to face LAFC. A goal from the South American in the 47th minute, from a cross by Omar Campos on the left, which he finished with a backheel, just as the Portuguese Paulinho of Toluca did last Saturday, caused Rayados to slow their pace and begin to lose the momentum that threatened to turn the tie around against Cruz Azul. Because Cruz Azul, accustomed to this kind of self-destruction, allowed a goal from the Argentine Jorge “Corcho” Rodriguez eight minutes into the match, which began to raise the idea of ??another of their historic dramas in Mexican football. Unfortunately, Monterrey was a mirage, as in the end they felt the absence of seven starters, such as the Spaniard Jose Canales, Iker Fimbres, and Lucas. Ocampo, Stefan Medina, among others, and had to resort to rookies Carlos Frayde and Carlos Bustos, as well as the Frenchman Anthony Martial. The lack of key players meant that in the second half the physical exertion took its toll, and they no longer had the strength to secure the draw and the 4-3 aggregate victory for Cruz Azul. Even the introduction of Serbian Uros ?ur?evic and Argentine Lucas Orellano couldn't change the course of the match. Meanwhile, Cruz Azul, after Rodriguez's goal—which they tried to blame on goalkeeper Andres Gudino, but no one blocked the Argentine—gradually recovered. In the second half, with Paradela's spectacular backheel goal that left Monterrey goalkeeper Luis Cardenas rooted to the spot, they got back on track and ultimately secured the tie. They will now face LAFC in the quarterfinals.

It is true that Cruz Azul did not play their best match and that they seemed to indulge an opponent who began to raise doubts about the true capacity of the Sky Blue squad to compete for the title of this tournament and the Clausura 2026 of Liga MX, for which reason they must improve their performance or they will end up saying goodbye to the competition.