The Argentine forward from Pachuca scored 11 goals during the regular season and surpassed Henry Martín by one goal
MEXICO -- Nicolás Ibáñez, forward for Pachuca, clinched the top scorer title of the 2022 Apertura Tournament, in which he scored eleven goals during the regular phase. With the crowning of the Argentine striker, three years have passed since the last time a Mexican player managed to finish as the monarch in this department.
The fight for the scoring title remained until the last matchday of the regular phase, in which Nicolás Ibáñez and Henry Martín emerged as the contenders. However, neither of them scored in their respective matches of the seventeenth round, allowing the Argentine to claim the individual title with eleven goals, compared to the ten goals scored by the Mexican.
Nicolás Ibáñez found the back of the net in nine encounters, including standout performances against Puebla and Tigres, in which he scored two goals each. He also netted a goal against Querétaro, Mazatlán, Atlas, Toluca, Santos, Puebla, Tijuana, and Atlético de San Luis.
The Argentine secured the scoring championship with eleven goals, a figure that has not been surpassed since the 2020 Apertura, in which Jonathan Rodríguez scored 12 goals. Subsequently, Alexis Canelo (11), Nicolás López, and Germán Berterame (9) were crowned, while André-Pierre Gignac achieved it last semester, also with eleven goals.
With Nicolás Ibáñez's individual title, it has been three years since a Mexican player managed to become the top scorer. Alan Pulido, who tied with Mauro Quiroga, is the last one to achieve it, after winning it in the 2019 Apertura with 12 goals.
Pachuca had to wait eight years to have another scoring champion. The most recent occasion, before Nicolás Ibáñez's achievement, was Enner Valencia, who scored 12 goals in the 2012 Clausura.