| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country |  Mexico |
| Teams | 8 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Tijuana |
| Runner-up | Toluca |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 14 |
| Goals scored | 36 (2.57 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) |  Édgar Benítez(3 goals) |
The Liguilla (English: Little League) of the 2012 Liga MX Apertura was the final knockout tournament involving eight teams of the Liga MX. The tournament began on November 14, 2012 and ended on December 12, 2012. The winners and runners-up of the competition qualified for the 2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League.
Teams
The eight best teams in the general table qualified for the competition.
| S | Team | Manager | Captain | Performance at the 2011 Apertura | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | ||||||
| 1 | Toluca | Enrique Meza | Sinha | 17 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 28 | 17 | +11 | 34 | ||
| 2 | Tijuana |  Antonio Mohamed | Javier Gandolfi | 17 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 23 | 15 | +8 | 34 | ||
| 3 | León |  Gustavo Matosas | TBD | 17 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 34 | 17 | +17 | 33 | ||
| 4 | América | Miguel Herrera |  Aquivaldo Mosquera | 17 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 28 | 15 | +13 | 31 | ||
| 5 | Morelia | Rubén Omar Romano | Federico Vilar | 17 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 25 | 16 | +9 | 27 | ||
| 6 | Cruz Azul | Guillermo Vázquez | Gerardo Torrado | 17 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 22 | 15 | +7 | 26 | ||
| 7 | Monterrey | Víctor Manuel Vucetich | José María Basanta | 17 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 23 | ||
| 8 | Guadalajara |  John van 't Schip | Héctor Reynoso | 17 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 23 | ||
Bracket
The eight qualified teams play two games against each other on a home-and-away basis. The winner of each match up is determined by aggregate score.
The teams were seeded one to eight in quarterfinals, and will be re-seeded one to four in semifinals, depending on their position in the general table. The higher seeded teams play on their home field during the second leg.
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Toluca | 2 | 3 | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Guadalajara | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Toluca | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | América | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | América | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Morelia | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Toluca | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Tijuana | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Tijuana | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Monterrey | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Tijuana | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | León | 2 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | León | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Cruz Azul | 2 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
- If the two teams are tied after both legs, the higher seeded team advances.
- Both finalist qualify to the 2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage.
Quarter-finals
The first legs of the quarterfinals were played on November 14 and 15. The second legs were played on November 17 and 18.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guadalajara (8) | 2–5 | (1) Toluca | 1–2 | 1–3 |
| Monterrey (7) | 1–2 | (2) Tijuana | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| Cruz Azul (6) | 2–4 | (3) León | 2–1 | 0–3 |
| Morelia (5) | 2–3 | (4) América | 0–2 | 2–1 |
Kickoffs are given in local time (UTC-6 unless stated otherwise).
First leg
| November 14, 2012 | Cruz Azul | 2–1 | León | Estadio Azul, Mexico City |
| 19:00 | G. Flores  17'M. Pavone 59' |
Report | 56' N. Maz |
Referee: Ricardo Arellano |
| November 14, 2012 | Morelia | 0–2 | América | Estadio Morelos, Morelia |
| 21:00 | M. Romero  82' |
Report | 58'. 76' C. Benítez |
Referee: Jorge Pérez |
| November 15, 2012 | Monterrey | 0–1 | Tijuana | Estadio Tecnológico, Monterrey |
| 19:00 | Report | 86' G. Garza |
Referee: Erim Ramírez |
| November 15, 2012 | Guadalajara | 1–2 | Toluca | Estadio Omnilife, Zapopan |
| 21:00 | R. Márquez Lugo 75' (pen) |
Report | 26' A. Ríos 30' Sinha |
Referee: Fernando Guerrero |
Second leg
| November 17, 2012 | América | 1–2 | Morelia | Estadio Azteca, Mexico City |
| 17:00 | R. Jiménez 39' |
Report | 2' J. Rojas 42' M. Sabah |
Referee: Francisco Chacón |
| November 17, 2012 | León | 3–0 | Cruz Azul | Estadio León, León |
| 19:00 | M. Britos 10', 33' L. Delgado 87' |
Report | Referee: Marco Rodriquez |
| November 18, 2012 | Toluca | 3–1 | Guadalajara | Estadio Nemesio Díez, Toluca |
| 12:00 | Wilson Mathías 56' Lucas Silva 58'J. Cacho 72' |
Report | 82' E. Torres |
Referee: Jesús Morales |
| November 18, 2012 | Tijuana | 1–1 | Monterrey | Estadio Caliente, Tijuana |
| 16:30 PST | A. de Nigris 51' |
Report | 90+3' P. Aguilar |
Referee: Roberto Garcia |
Semi-finals
The first legs of the semifinals were played on November 22 and November 25. The second legs were played on December 3 and 4.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| América (4) | 2–3 | (1) Toluca | 0–2 | 2–1 |
| León (3) | 2–3 | (2) Tijuana | 2–0 | 0 –3 |
Kickoffs are given in local time (UTC-6 unless stated otherwise).
First leg
| November 22, 2012 | América | 0–2 | Toluca | Estadio Azteca, Mexico City |
| 19:00 | Report | 54' Lucas Silva 90' É. Benítez |
Referee: Jorge Pérez |
| November 22, 2012 | León | 2–0 | Tijuana | Estadio León, León |
| 21:00 | O. Arce 56' C. Peña 57' |
Report | Referee: Francisco Chacón |
Second leg
| November 25, 2012 | Toluca | 1–2 | América | Estadio Nemesio Díez, Toluca |
| 12:00 | É. Benítez 59' |
Report | 16' M. Layún 37' D. Montenegro 90+5' J. Medina |
Referee: Roberto Garcia |
| November 25, 2012 | Tijuana | 3–0 | León | Estadio Caliente, Tijuana |
| 16:30 PST | F. Martínez 42' D. Riascos 68'R. Ruiz 90' |
Report | Referee: Marco Rodriquez |
Final
The first leg of the final was played on November 29, the second leg on December 2.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tijuana (2) | 4–1 | (1) Toluca | 2–1 | 2–0 |
Kickoffs are given in local time (UTC-6 unless stated otherwise).
First leg
| November 29, 2012 | Tijuana | 2–1 | Toluca | Estadio Caliente, Tijuana |
| 19:00 PST | F. Martínez 24' P. Aguilar 40'C. Pellerano  41'F. Arce 82' |
Report | 26' É. Benítez 41' Sinha 80' A. Talavera |
Referee: Roberto Garcia |
Second leg
| December 2, 2012 | Toluca | 0–2 | Tijuana | Estadio Nemesio Díez, Toluca |
| 18:00 | C. Esquivel 7' D. Novaretti 69' |
Report | 69' R. Ruiz 71' D. Riascos 85' F. Martínez |
Referee: Francisco Chacón |
| Apertura 2012 winners: |
|---|
| Tijuana 1st Title |