The Tijuana Xolos have officially won their second game of the Liga MX 2023 Apertura season thanks to a Liga MX ruling that went their way. Club Tijuana had originally lost 3-0 against Puebla at the Estadio Cuauhtemoc on Sept. 1, but that scoreline was revered by the league.

The result is now a 1-0 victory by Club Tijuana due to Puebla Assistant Coach Luis Miguel Noriega not being registered in the Liga MX. It took a few days to resolve this case, but the league has sided with the Tijuana Xolos, and now the border city team has its second win of the season. The first win of this 2023 Apertura campaign was a 2-1 win against Cruz Azul at the Estadio Caliente.

This is also the first road win for the Aztec Canines since April 14, 2023, when the Xoloitzcuintles beat Mazatlan 2-1 in Sinaloa. With the three points from this Result, the Border City Dogs will be in 12th place with eight points, just one point out of a playoff spot.

While the win helps out the numbers, there is still clearly a plethora of the field issues with this Club Tijuana side. Xolos has only scored one goal in its last four games in all competitions, and the backline can be very inconsistent, with amazing performances by Antonio Rodriguez saving the team.

Club Tijuana has recently added Efrain Alvarez and Domingo Blanco to try and deal with the offensive side of things. Alvarez is a 21-year-old Mexican-American midfielder from East Los Angeles who has spent all of his career with LA Galaxy in MLS. Alvarez has already represented the Mexico national team in different categories and is looking to get back into international play after not receiving a call-up since 2021.

Domingo Blanco is a 28-year-old veteran midfielder who has spent most of his career in his native Argentina to this point. Blanco is currently still owned by Ukrainian team Dnipro-1, as this move to Club Tijuana is a loan deal from the European club.

Both Alvarez and Blanco provide offensive qualities that have the potential to help out this Club Tijuana team that can struggle in generating scoring play. The next game for Club Tijuana will be this Friday, Sept. 15, at the Estadio Caliente against a tough team in Toluca FC.

Francisco Velasco

Francisco, 26, Chula Vista/Tijuana. I have been a Padres fan all my life, did most of the series previews and recaps in the Padres’ 2016 season for EVT. Now I focus more on the local soccer scene. Tijuana Xolos, San Diego Loyal, San Diego Wave.