Cruz Azul turned a rough patch into a statement at Banorte Stadium in Mexico City, beating FC Juarez 5-0 on Matchday 12 and climbing to fifth place in the standings. Roger González, brought on in place of Charly Rodríguez, scored his first-division debut goal in a match that had already been decided long before the final whistle.
By the 60th minute, Cruz Azul was already 4-0 up, and the home side still held a 5-0 lead at the 90th minute before three minutes of stoppage time were added. Montaño, Charly Rodríguez, Campos, Palavecino and González were on the scoresheet, with the last goal underlining how quickly the match got away from FC Juarez and how forcefully Cruz Azul answered the pressure around them in Liga MX Matchday 12.
The scale of the win mattered because it came after a difficult spell, yet the response was anything but cautious. Cruz Azul did not just take three points; it reshaped the Cruz Azul vs FC Juárez standings conversation by moving into fifth place, a jump built on a performance that looked confident from the opening stretch and never loosened. Late changes included Andrés Montaño for Osinachi Ebere, Ibáñez and Palavecino off for Gabriel Fernández and Ariel Castro, and FC Juarez sending on Guilherme, Madson and Dupuy, but none of it changed the course of the night.
What comes next is the harder question. Cruz Azul have the result they needed, and Roger González has the goal that marks a first step at this level, but the real test is whether this kind of control holds when the match is closer and the standings stop being measured by a single surge. For now, fifth place is theirs, and they earned it with the kind of win that leaves no debate.
