Liga MX Femenil just wrapped up the Clausura Week 4, but while doing so the transfer deadline started to approach. With teams looking to hold on to their players, some stock rose, namely that of Uchenna Kanu.
The Nigerian international is heading to Racing Louisville, per reporting from The Equalizer’s Jeff Kassouf. According to the report, Kanu is heading to Louisville for a big transfer fee of $150,000. Sources say that if Kanu scores 12 goals this year, Louisville will pay an additional $30,000.
Kanu scored four goals in four weeks for Tigres. Kanu did not dress for Tigres’ Week 4 match against Toluca, where UANL won 2-0. Her time in Mexico has been short-lived with only two full seasons (Clasurua 2022 and Apertura 2022) and featuring twice in the recent Clausura 2023 campaign, scoring a hat-trick in Week 1.
Kanu will join a Racing Louisville team that has bulked up on defense, but needed reinforcements on offense. Jess McDonald has returned from loan in Australia, and Thembi Kgatlana is recovering from her Achilles injury after the Women’s African Cup of Nations last year, now back in training.
Kanu will be making a jump from a dominant Tigres side to a Louisville side that has made noticeable improvement’s from last season’s ninth-place finishing side. She’ll be under the direction of second-year manager Kim Björkegren.
Kanu scored the first hat-trick of the 2023 Clausura season against Atlas, a side that finished in the playoffs last year. In the NWSL, she’ll face a step up in competition across the board, while in Liga MX Femenil the competition is growing in regard to the bottom-of-the-table clubs.
Highlight: Chivas de Guadalajara 2, FC Juárez 1
FC Juárez has been the ‘Cinderella story’ of the current Clausura season. However, the team’s undefeated streak ran out on Monday night. Juárez did keep it interesting, though, against top-side Chivas.
Casandra Montero scored in the 45th minute on a wide-open header inside the box, right before the first half ended. To kick off the second half, Chivas found Adriana Iturbide flanked between three defenders and oncoming Juárez goalkeeper Stefani Jiménez. She single-handedly out-ran the three defenders and snuck the ball underneath the goalkeeper’s leg.
However, FC Juárez didn’t allow Chivas or Blanca Félix to walk away with the clean sheet. Juárez was awarded a penalty and Blanca Solís stepped up to take the shot. Solís nailed it to the lower left of the net and quickly restarted play. However, FC Juárez couldn’t muster up enough of an attack to equalize.
It wasn’t a huge loss and it wasn’t a game where FC Juárez completely sat on their back after going down. Even though the result ended in a loss, Juárez will take some confidence going into their match with a struggling Atlas side.
Highlight: Necaxa 0, Club América 6
Suddenly, there’s a new leader in the Golden Boot race. Kiana Palacios brought Necaxa to shame with a four-goal game, along with goals from Andrea Pereira and Katty Martínez, who made her return from injury.
Palacios scored twice in the first half and twice in the second. She scored early, in the 5th minute, sneaking in between two defenders and slipping the ball past goalkeeper Dayri Hernández. In the 35th minute, Palacios took a strike at a difficult angle for her brace.
In the second half, she scored another two goals within five minutes of each other. In the 77th minute, Palacios leapt high inside the box on a free kick and sent the ball to the left of the goalkeeper. Her curtain-call goal came in the 82nd minute on another free kick, heading the ball down past the goal line.
Palacios has now leapt high on the Golden Boot chart with nine total goals in four games. She is followed by Alicia Cervantes of Chivas with six goals and Charlyn Corral of Pachuca with five goals. Christina Burkenroad of Monterrey follows in fourth place with four goals — albeit, tied with Kanu, although her scoring in Mexico is done with the move to Louisville.
Palacios and Club América will take on Club León in Week 5, who are riding a three-game losing streak.
Other Clausura Week 4 Scores
- Querétaro 0-0 Santos Laguna
- UNAM Pumas 2-3 Pachuca
- Club León 0-1 C.F. Monterrey
- Atlético San Luis 5-1 Atlas
- Club Tijuana 4-1 Puebla
- UANL Tigres 2-0 Toluca
- Mazatlán 1-3 Cruz Azul
Liga MX Femenil Clausura 2023 Table | Week 4
NOTE: The top eight teams in Liga MX Femenil will qualify for the Liguilla, which are the playoffs.
| Team | W | D | L | GA | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C.F. Monterrey | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 12 |
| Tigres | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 12 |
| Chivas de Guadalajara | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 12 |
| Club América | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 10 |
| FC Juárez | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 9 |
| Pachuca | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 9 |
| Cruz Azul | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| Club Tijuana | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | -1 | 7 |
| Atlético San Luis | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 6 |
| Atlas | 2 | 0 | 2 | 12 | -5 | 6 |
| Santos Laguna | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Querétaro | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | -1 | 4 |
| UNAM Pumas | 1 | 0 | 3 | 11 | -4 | 3 |
| Club León | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | -4 | 3 |
| Toluca | 0 | 0 | 4 | 14 | -12 | 0 |
| Necaxa | 0 | 0 | 4 | 16 | -14 | 0 |
| Puebla | 0 | 0 | 4 | 15 | -14 | 0 |
| Mazatlán | 0 | 0 | 4 | 21 | -20 | 0 |
Looking Ahead: Clausura 2023 | Week 5
*All Times in Eastern Time. All matches on ViX streaming for free.
Friday, Feb. 3: Toluca vs. Chivas de Guadalajara at 6 PM
Friday, Feb. 3: Atlas vs. FC Juárez at 8:05 PM
Saturday, Feb. 4: Cruz Azul vs. UNAM Pumas at 1 PM
Sunday, Feb. 5: Puebla vs. Necaxa at 1 PM
Sunday, Feb. 5: Club Tijuana vs. Mazatlán at 10:10 PM
Monday, Feb. 6: Club América vs. Club León at 4:45 PM
Monday, Feb. 6: UANL Tigres vs. Atlético San Luis at 8 PM
Monday, Feb. 6: Pachuca vs. Santos Laguna at 8:05 PM
Monday, Feb. 6: C.F. Monterrey vs. Querétaro at 10:10 PM
