<
>

Liga MX end-of-season brief: Santos worthy champions, Chivas disappoint

With two seasons squeezed in every year, it's easy to miss out on what happened in the Mexican first division. In the spirit of that brevity, we've provided a one-sentence summary for each Liga MX club's performance in the 2018 Clausura.

Santos Laguna -- Champions

After defeating the likes of Tigres, Club America and Toluca in the playoffs, Los Guerreros are worthy of lifting the Clausura title.

Toluca -- Finalist

So close and yet so very far for the No. 1 seed, which struggled to find momentum and confidence in the final stretch of the Liguilla.

Club America -- Semifinalist

Regardless of how well the regular season went, another year without a league title will be seen as a failure for Las Aguilas.

Club Tijuana -- Semifinalist

Following injury concerns and money problems, Xolos easily exceeded expectations with a final-four finish.

Morelia -- Quarterfinalist

Although Morelia continues to punch above its weight, the squad couldn't re-create the same magic from the previous season.

Pumas -- Quarterfinalist

Once seen as a potential title contender with Nico Castillo spearheading the attack, Pumas gradually ran out of steam as the season progressed.

Monterrey -- Quarterfinalist

It's still difficult to believe that the best attacking side in the league completely fell apart in the quarterfinals against Xolos.

Tigres -- Quarterfinalist

No excuses for the former titleholders, who squandered their initial 2-0 lead over Santos Laguna in the quarterfinals.

Pachuca -- ninth place

Pachuca needed more than just Keisuke Honda to help carry the team into the playoffs.

Puebla -- 10th place

After a brilliant start to the season, Puebla ruined its playoff chances with an eventual five-game losing streak near the end of the tournament.

Necaxa -- 11th place

While an optimist would note that Los Rayos' solid defense carried them to 10 draws and only three losses, a pessimist would note that their dismal attack carried them to 10 draws and only four wins.

Cruz Azul -- 12th place

Too little, too late for a Cruz Azul roster that didn't start to gain momentum until the final weeks.

Leon -- 13th place

Coincidence or not, Leon began to immediately tumble down the league table after Landon Donovan's arrival.

Queretaro -- 14th place

Inconsistent results plagued a Queretaro squad that seemed to be forever stuck in a mid-table position.

Atlas -- 15th place

It's not exactly the sign of a good season when a club fires two managers in the space of three months.

Veracruz -- 16th place

With just 12 goals in 17 games, no Liga MX attack was more dreadful.

Chivas -- 17th place

A CONCACAF Champions League title has done plenty to obscure the complete mess that Chivas proved to be during the league campaign.

Lobos BUAP -- 18th place

Wait, they aren't relegated?