Club América secures a place in the Apertura final after the seven-goal thriller against Cruz Azul

Cruz Azul and Club América met in the semi-finals at the Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes, with one team securing a place in the final.

The winner would face Monterrey, who came from behind to beat Atlético de San Luis in the other match.

Last night’s meeting had the makings of a must-attend event. The two teams faced each other in the Clausura 2024 final, from which América narrowly emerged victorious and claimed a record-breaking 15th Liga MX title. But Cruz Azul took revenge in the current Apertura regular season with a confident 4-0 win. This time the stakes were even higher as one of those Mexico City rivals would also secure their place in the final Los Rayadosdetermined to have the last laugh.

In the first leg the two teams played to a thrilling goalless draw, which meant all attention was focused on the second leg and only one team could reach the final. Since Cruz Azul finished the regular season top of the table, a draw would mean they would qualify for the showpiece tournament, while a win would be the only way to do so Las Águilas.

All eyes turned to the home of Cruz Azul for the replay and tensions were once again high. Unlike the first meeting, the first momentum of the game went in the visitors’ favor when Alejandro Zendejas struck from outside the penalty area and beat Kevin Mier in the Maquiná goal.

La Maquiná He spent the rest of the half knocking on the door, but failed to give Luis Malagón a chance in the América goal.

The second half began with another shock. Cruz Azul were well in possession in their own half when an under-hit pass from Gonzalo Piovi was intercepted by Richard Sánchez, who fired an attempted shot from the halfway line to beat Mier. To the disbelief of everyone in the stadium, América had not only doubled their lead against the absolute favorites and secured the Apertura, but had also beaten Azul on the halfway line and scored a goal one of the goals of the season.

Now two goals for good, Las Águilas Forty minutes before the end of the game, they were well on their way to their third straight Liga MX final.

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As expected, Cruz Azul continued to press and almost scored shortly after conceding, but Jonathan Dos Santos came to the rescue, clearing Luis Romo’s shot off the line.

In the 67th minute, Azul finally made their first breakthrough of the game when Piovi retaliated with a ball from deep that went through the entire América defense and found Ignacio Rivero, whose first touch on the chest allowed him to beat the onrushing Malagón to lift.

The game was evenly played, with one goal between both teams. However, the game would only stay like this for a few minutes before the next twist occurred. América restored its lead.

In a rare attack in the second half Las Águilas Ramon Juárez jumped higher than anyone else and headed his shot past Mier.

Time was running out as we found ourselves trailing 3-1 La Maquiná If they had the desire to reach the final, they would try.

With ten minutes left, Cruz Azul fought its way back into the game. Push América deep into their own half, former Águila Jorge Sánchez delivered a precise cross that found Gabriel Fernández. Fernández rose above the defense and directed a header back to the near post, beating Malagón for the second time in the game.

Once again, Cruz Azul found himself one goal away from the finalAnd You got it late in the game.

For the third time in the game, América’s inability to block crosses proved costly. Jorge Sánchez initiated the game again and passed to Alexis Montaño, who sent a dangerous ball into the penalty area. Although América managed to eliminate the initial threat, the ball fell to Amaury Morales. With precision and power, Morales unleashed a breathtaking volley that gave Malagón no chance.

For the first time in this duel, Cruz Azul reached the final. In an action-packed second leg, Morales sprinted towards the fans and celebrated a monumental moment that could define her campaign.

But… There was one final twist in the store.

With one minute left until stoppage time and América were just seconds away from elimination. André Jardine sent everyone forward and Cruz Azul buckled under the pressure. The ball was thrown high to Rodrigo Aguirre, who hurled it into the path of Fidalgo, who brought down Rodolfo Rotondi in the penalty area.

Despite the Azul players’ complaints, The referee had no other choice but to point to the spot.

It wouldn’t be a semi-final Clasico in Mexico without drama, but no one expected that. América were just ten minutes away from qualifying, just seconds away from missing the final and having the perfect opportunity to finally break the tie.

Aguirre stepped up for the most important shot of the game. The Uruguayan was instrumental in the penalty and had the chance to send home both the second-place team (Toluca) from the regular season and the now top-seeded team.

The 30-year-old kept his calm and pushed the ball in the opposite direction to the jumping Mierwhich sends Club América to the final.

The game was extended by 16 minutes and one final piece of drama ensued. Not in the form of a goal, but a sending off. Aguirre had the decisive influence on the game, but was sent off a few minutes later for an unruly foul on Piovi and received the second yellow card of the game.

Cruz Azul failed to capitalize on the man advantage and the final whistle ended a breathtaking second half.

Despite finishing the regular season in eighth place, Club América secured a place in the Liguilla final. The result means they will have to face Monterrey in a doubleheader and be crowned winners of the 2024 Apertura once.

Was that the craziest game you’ve ever seen? Let us know!