| Prevseason: | Clausura 2018 |
| Nextseason: | Clausura 2019 |
The Apertura 2018 Liga MX championship stage commonly known as Liguilla (mini league) was played from 28 November 2018 to 16 December 2018.[1] A total of eight teams competed in the championship stage to decide the champions of the Apertura 2018 Liga MX season. Both finalists qualified to the 2020 CONCACAF Champions League.
The following 8 teams qualified for the championship stage.
In the following table, the number of appearances, last appearance, and previous best result count only those in the short tournament era starting from Invierno 1996 (not counting those in the long tournament era from 1943–44 to 1995–96).
| Team | Seed | Points | Appearance | Last appearance | Previous best | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cruz Azul | 1 | 36 | 28th | Apertura 2017 | Champions | [2] | |
| América | 2 | 33 | 31st | Clausura 2018 | Champions | [3] | |
| UNAM | 3 | 30 (+10) | 22nd | Champions | [4] | ||
| Santos Laguna | 4 | 30 (+9) | 29th | Champions | [5] | ||
| Monterrey | 5 | 30 (+6) | 21st | Champions | [6] | ||
| UANL | 6 | 29 | 23rd | Champions | [7] | ||
| Toluca | 7 | 26 (+5) | 32nd | Champions | [8] | ||
| Querétaro | 8 | 26 (–1) | 10th | Clausura 2015 | Runners-up | [9] [10] |
|}
All times are UTC−5
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Cruz Azul won 3–1 on aggregate.
----Monterrey won 3–0 on aggregate.
----UNAM won 4–3 on aggregate.
----América won 5–4 on aggregate.
All times are UTC−5
----
1–1 on aggregate and tied on away goals. Cruz Azul advanced for being the higher seed in the classification table.
----América won 7–2 on aggregate.
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| Assistant referees
[12] [13] |
| Statistic[14] | América | Cruz Azul | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| scope=row | Goals scored | 0 | 0 | |
| scope=row | Total shots | 8 | 7 | |
| scope=row | Shots on target | 2 | 1 | |
| scope=row | Saves | 1 | 2 | |
| scope=row | Ball possession | 52% | 48% | |
| scope=row | Corner kicks | 2 | 2 | |
| scope=row | Fouls committed | 15 | 14 | |
| scope=row | Offsides | 1 | 3 | |
| scope=row | Yellow cards | 3 | 3 | |
| scope=row | Red cards | 0 | 0 |
América won 2–0 on aggregate.
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| Assistant referees
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| Statistic[15] | Cruz Azul | América | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| scope=row | Goals scored | 0 | 2 | |
| scope=row | Total shots | 5 | 12 | |
| scope=row | Shots on target | 0 | 9 | |
| scope=row | Saves | 7 | 0 | |
| scope=row | Ball possession | 55% | 45% | |
| scope=row | Corner kicks | 0 | 3 | |
| scope=row | Fouls committed | 11 | 21 | |
| scope=row | Offsides | 1 | 0 | |
| scope=row | Yellow cards | 2 | 4 | |
| scope=row | Red cards | 1 | 0 |
Emanuel Aguilera (América)
Edson Álvarez (América) Rogelio Funes Mori (Monterrey) Diego Lainez (América)
Roger Martínez (América) Paul Aguilar (América) Matías Alustiza (UNAM) Javier Aquino (UANL) Milton Caraglio (Cruz Azul)
William (Toluca) Jesús Dueñas (UANL) Elías Hernández (Cruz Azul)
Renato Ibarra (América)
Édgar Méndez (Cruz Azul) Rodolfo Pizarro (Monterrey) Guido Rodríguez (América) Luis Romo (Querétaro) Rubens Sambueza (Toluca) Nicolás Sánchez (Monterrey) Fernando Tobio (Toluca) Alexis Vega (Toluca) Alfredo Saldívar (for UANL) Adrián Aldrete (Cruz Azul) Renato Ibarra (América) Víctor Malcorra (UNAM) Oribe Peralta (América) Carlos Rodríguez (Monterrey) Paul Aguilar (América) Javier Aquino (UANL) Pablo Barrera (UNAM) Avilés Hurtado (Monterrey) Édgar Méndez (Cruz Azul) Alan Mozo (UNAM) Dorlan Pabón (Monterrey) Guido Pizarro (UANL) Rubens Sambueza (Toluca) Jorge Sánchez (América) Enrique Triverio (Toluca)