HOW MANY GOALS HAS AMÉRICA’S MARTÍN SCORED IN LIGA MX CLAUSURA 2023?

It’s often said that Mexican footballers take a particularly long time to reach maturity, that they rarely hit top form before their 25th birthday. One man who has certainly followed that apparent trend is Club América striker Henry Martín. Now 30, Martín has blossomed into the Liga MX’S stand-out star in the Clausura 2023, hitting five goals in four games in a sterling start to the tournament.

Martín top of scoring charts after Mazatlán hat-trick

After netting once each in América’s draws with Toluca and Puebla on matchdays two and three, the Mexico international grabbed the Liga MX headlines this weekend, plundering a hat-trick as Las Águilas thumped Mazatlán 6-0 at the Estadio Azteca.

He leads the Mexican scoring charts ahead of Monterrey striker and international colleague Rogelio Funes Mori, who has four goals for Rayados.

Ever since his emergence at Tijuana in 2014, Martín’s talent has been clear, but in the 18 tournaments he has played in the Mexican top flight - seven with Los Xolos, 11 with América - he has never scored at this rate.

Martín criticised for World Cup showing with Mexico

It seems clear that the forward is determined to prove his critics wrong, after he came under fire over his performances in Mexico’s early exit from the 2022 World Cup. Martín was on target in El Tri’s win over Saudi Arabia in their final group-stage game, but not before drawing a blank in a goalless opening draw with Poland - a display that saw him drop to the bench for the matchday-two defeat to Argentina.

In Martín’s previous Liga MX tournaments, the most he had scored in the first four games was two. In the Clausura 2016, while still a Tijuana player, he was on target in a 3-1 matchday-three reverse to Santos Laguna, and a 2-2 draw with Veracruz in the following round of games. After joining América at the end of 2017, he began the Clausura 2018 with a goal in the 13-time Mexican champions’ 1-0 opening win over Querétaro, before also scoring in a 2-2 round-two stalemate with Pachuca.