Tigres four-goal mauling of Jaguares kick-started an otherwise subdued opening weekend to the Liga MX Apertura 2012 on Friday.

Three of the eight games ended goalless, suggesting a fair few players need time to recover their match sharpness, gel with new team members and mentally readjust after the summer break.

Not one of Mexico’s traditional “big four” teams managed a win: America, Cruz Azul and Pumas all drew while Chivas lost 2-1 to Toluca.

Recent seasons have seen a power shift to northern Mexico and that trend appeared to continue this weekend, with northern clubs Tigres, Tijuana and Santos all winning.

Tigres racked up a 4-0 lead within 40 minutes in Chiapas, meaning the second half was a mere formality, while later on Friday Tijuana claimed a 2-0 home victory over Puebla.

Following a frantic start which left the score at 1-1 after just five minutes, Clausura 2012 champions Santos Laguna eventually overcame San Luis on Saturday, thanks to Herculez Gomez’s 70th minute strike.

Elsewhere, newly promoted Leon began its campaign with a 2-0 away win over Queretaro, while John van’t Schip suffered a rougher start to life as Chivas coach in Toluca.

Having afforded their hosts an early two-goal lead, Chivas dominated the second half. New signing Rafael Marquez Lugo pulled one back on his competitive debut, but the Guadalajara side could not summon up an equalizer.

Finally, the bitter, 30-year feud between Pachuca coach Hugo Sanchez and his Atlanta counterpart Ricardo La Volpe failed to inspire either set of players to break the deadlock in the goalless stalemate that rounded off Jornada 1 on Sunday.

The weekend’s results in full:

Jaguares 0-4 Tigres
Tijuana 2-0 Puebla
Cruz Azul 0-0 Morelia
Queretaro 0-2 Leon
Monterrey 0-0 America
Santos 2-1 San Luis
Atlas 1-1 Pumas
Toluca 2-1 Chivas
Atlante 0-0 Pachuca

By Duncan Tucker (@DuncanTucker)