At the beginning of the Liga MX season, both Xolos and Rayados were thought to be favorites to lift the cup. Rayados were (still) the reigning champions, have an incredibly deep roster, and finally got some time to rest players and recover from injuries that had made the 2020 Clausura a nightmare after a very successful 2019. Xolos on the other hand had acquired most of the good players at Querétaro before ownership group Grupo Caliente divested Gallos Blancos, forming something of a super-squad, supposedly the best of both worlds.
It didn’t quite work out.
Miller Bolaños and Ariel Nahuelpán both left and the club was adrift, a 2-0 loss to Pachuca finalizing an early offseason from Liga MX play for Tijuana.