Cruz Azul's Clausura 2026 title push is built on shaky ground

The Anselmi experiment is reaching its tipping point

Look at the Liga MX table right now, and everything seems perfect for Cruz Azul. Martín Anselmi has this team playing a brand of possession football that looks completely alien to the rest of the league. They pass, they move, they press high, and they suffocate opponents before they even cross the halfway line. It's aesthetically brilliant, but let's be honest for a second — it might not be enough.

We've seen this movie before. La Máquina dominates the regular season, racks up 35 points, and convinces everyone that this is their year. Then the Liguilla starts, the intensity ramps up, and suddenly that beautiful possession game turns into meaningless sideways passing.

Kevin Mier has been bailing them out for weeks. The Colombian goalkeeper is arguably the best shot-stopper in North America right now, but a title contender shouldn't be relying on their keeper to win Man of the Match awards against bottom-half sides like Mazatlán and Puebla.

When you strip away the flashy tactical setups, you start noticing the cracks in the foundation.

The glaring problem up top

You cannot win a Liga MX title without a killer instinct inside the box. Look at the recent champions — Tigres had Gignac, Club América had Henry Martín operating at his absolute peak. Who does Cruz Azul have when they desperately need a goal in the 88th minute of a chaotic semifinal?

Ángel Sepúlveda runs himself into the ground every single match. His work rate is phenomenal, and he completely buys into Anselmi's pressing triggers. But work rate doesn't win you championships. He misses far too many clear-cut chances when the pressure is on. During that frustrating 0-0 draw against Pumas last weekend, he had two glorious opportunities and put both of them straight into Julio González's chest.

Gabriel Fernández is another issue altogether. When he's fit, he looks like a physical monster who can bully Liga MX center-backs. The problem is he is almost never consistently fit. Relying on him to stay healthy through a grinding two-month playoff schedule is asking for disappointment.

Anselmi's system relies heavily on the wingbacks generating width and firing crosses into the box. But if nobody is finishing those chances, what's the point? Opposing managers have already figured this out. You just sit in a low block, pack the penalty area, and let Cruz Azul cross the ball to nobody all night long.

Midfield brilliance isn't enough

The midfield trio of Lorenzo Faravelli, Carlos Rodríguez, and Ignacio Rivero is genuinely fantastic to watch. Faravelli dictates the tempo like a metronome, while Charly Rodríguez has quietly put together his best season in years. They completely control the center of the pitch in almost every game they play.

But control is an illusion in the Liguilla. Mexican football in May is about chaos, transitions, and individual brilliance. Teams like Monterrey and Toluca don't care if you have 65 percent possession. They are more than happy to absorb pressure for 80 minutes and then hit you on the counter with devastating speed.

We saw this exact scenario play out against Monterrey earlier in the Clausura. Cruz Azul had all the ball, made twice as many passes, and looked like the better team for long stretches. Then Sergio Canales found one pocket of space, played a simple through ball, and suddenly La Máquina was picking the ball out of their own net. That defensive vulnerability in transition is going to cost them dearly if Anselmi doesn't tweak his approach.

The psychological burden of the Cruzazuleada

We can't talk about Cruz Azul without talking about the ghosts that haunt the Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes. Yes, the curse was technically broken in Guardianes 2021. But anybody who has watched this team over the last few years knows the fear is still there.

Every time they drop deep to defend a one-goal lead, the entire stadium goes dead quiet. The fans feel it, the players feel it, and the opponents definitely feel it. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy of panic.

Anselmi has done a brilliant job shielding his players from the media noise, but the Liguilla is a pressure cooker. When a referee makes a controversial call against them, or when they concede a sloppy goal from a set-piece, how will this squad react? Will they crumble like so many Cruz Azul teams of the past, or will they actually show some backbone?

To win this Clausura, they don't need to play better football. They need to become cynical, pragmatic, and ruthless. They need to learn how to kill games off. Until they prove they can do that on the biggest stage, their title ambitions are nothing more than wishful thinking.

The path forward

The final stretch of the regular season is going to be brutal. Back-to-back away trips against Tigres and Club León will expose exactly where this squad really stands. Tigres at the Volcán is the ultimate litmus test for any title contender, and André-Pierre Gignac will gladly exploit any space left behind by Cruz Azul's aggressive fullbacks.

If Anselmi's men get completely overrun in transition against Tigres, the panic buttons will be fully pressed in La Noria. A top-four finish is essentially guaranteed at this point, but securing the top seed is paramount. They need that home-field advantage for the second legs in the Liguilla, simply because their away form in knockout matches has been wildly inconsistent.

The Clausura 2026 title is entirely up for grabs. Club América is stumbling, Monterrey is wildly unpredictable, and Chivas lacks the firepower to go the distance. This is Cruz Azul's tournament to lose. Sadly, history tells us they are absolute experts at doing exactly that.