América recovers from a childish error and obtains a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Mexican final

Fernando Hernández decrees the end of the first chapter of this final between cementeros and azulcremas. The first half was intense and good, but the second half lacked quality and goals.
Photo: Imago7

Cruz Azul steps into the Águilas area for the first time in a long time, but the wall does not work, while America is encouraged to go forward, but it is already becoming more difficult for him. The first leg final is ending with a 1-1 draw. Jardine takes out Álvado Fidalgo and puts in Salvador Reyes.

The 90 minutes are up and it is announced that there will be 8 additional minutes. Let’s see if the Machine can do something interesting after a bad second half where it has been suffering and without any finish.

Javairo Dilsorun enters the field for the Águilas to replace Julián Quiñones, who was injured, while Richard Sánchez enters for Diego Valdés, who had a discreet game.

At 82′ comes Cruz Azul’s last change. Uriel Antuna, scorer of his team’s goal, leaves and Camilo Cándido from Uruguay enters. Could it be that Anselmi wants to bet on protecting himself better?

At 77′ Captain Henry Martín leaves. Coach André Jardine sends the Uruguayan Brian Rodríguez, who in his first play raises his foot and has a collision on the baseline with Carlos Salcedo, who takes a hit. The “Titan” is now rising.

Carlos Rotondi leaves at 75′ so that Erik Lira, who is a defensive midfielder, enters the game. The idea apparently is to overtake Carlos Rodríguez.

Coach Martín Anselmi sends Ángel Sepúlveda to the field in place of Lorenzo Faravelli at 70′. He urges the Machine to correct because he has completely disappeared and much has been saved.

At 66′, an extraordinary long pass from Israel Reyes leaves Quiñones alone in front of goalkeeper Mier, but his definition is not good and the weak shot is taken near the goal line by defender Ditta. The naturalized Colombian Mexican from America lacked forcefulness.

It is difficult for the Machine to mount attacks in this second half. The Eagles came out better after the break and have had more of the ball in this period.

At 57 minutes, the referee stopped the action after captain Henry Martín was knocked down after a collision in the cement area with Rotondi. Fernando Hernández took a while to resume action while waiting for the VAR people to tell him if everything was in order.

The light blues seemed better off after 10 minutes of extra time, however they lost a ball in their area and almost paid the price after Quiñones’ theft. Diego Valdés shot in the area and there was a defensive rebound.

The Eagles take the lead at the dawn of the second half and Henry Martín finishes off an excellent pass into the area. Goalkeeper Kevin Mier rejects the shot by diving to his right and then comes a countershot from Quiñones that blocks Colombian defender Willer Ditta with his stomach one meter from the goal. The Second Machine is saved.

In the midst of an excellent atmosphere and chants from the cement public, which is the vast majority, the players emerge back on the field of the Ciudad de los Deportes Stadium. The second part is about to begin.

Benjamín Galindo was one of the finest and most elegant Mexican soccer players in history. A few years ago he suffered a stroke and since then he has waged an admirable battle to move forward. The “Master” sent his support to the Machine for the final against America.

The pressure from the blues is felt, although America defends itself well to avoid free kicks. The referee whistles the end of the first half of the first leg final.

Spectacular play at 39′ when Rodrigo Huescas, from Cruz Azul, finds a ball bouncing outside the area and hits the bomb. Luis Malagón deflects a corner kick in a colorful shot. In the corner, Nacho Rivero was alone, but he did not fight with good timing and finished off wide. He missed a good opportunity.

Argentine Carlos Rotondi shoots from mid-distance after a serve from the other side of the field. Luis Malagón lies back to save at 28′. We remain 1-1.

By claiming that Alejandro Zendejas had been the last to touch the ball on a throw-in, the cement workers were careless in the tying play. Zendejas took advantage and beat them back by serving to hand over to Henry, who did the great thing, leaving Salcedo behind. The question remains whether the ball should actually belong to the home team.

The scorer of the American goal, Julián Quiñones, makes a double cut outside the area and puts in a dangerous cross that bounces into the area and goes just to the side. No one came to close at the second post.

At 16 minutes, Julian Quiñones only had to push the pass from Henry Martín, who gave him half a goal after taking the defender with enormous movement. A throw-in from Zendejas, who came alive, caught the cement defenders in a bad position.

Uriel Antuna gave him a lot of suspense by taking the penalty, but he deceived Luis Malagón by shooting to the left of the azulcrema goalkeeper. The Machine moves forward very soon.

An incredible mistake by Jona dos Santos complicates the play of goalkeeper Malagón, who is called for a foul in the area on Antuna. Lots of complaints, but there was clear contact on the foot.

It should be remembered that América and Cruz Azul were the two best teams in the Clausura 2024 tournament, separated by only two points. The azulcremas advanced after leaving Chivas on the road, while the cement workers did so by eliminating Rayados de Monterrey. America seeks 15th. title and Cruz Azul the 10th.

Fernando Hernández will be the central referee tonight, with Michel Alejandro Morales and Enedina Caudillo as assistant judges. The fourth referee is Luis Enrique Santander. The VAR is in charge of Guillermo Pacheco. Photo: Imago7

The teams take the field while huge Cruz Azul and América flags are waved in the central part of the field and the Liga MX anthem is heard. You see very few yellow shirts in the stands.

Full-back Kevin Álvarez is a notable absence for América in the final. He underwent surgery for chronic pubalgia and just before starting the final he published a photo on his networks indicating that everything went well.

Hero of a thousand battles of the Águilas, Miguel Layún, says on the field during the TUDN broadcast that “if there is a Cruz Azul that can win the final against América, it is this one” of Clausura 2024. Layún was part of the most dramatic American title , in May 2013 against the Machine. Photo: Imago7

Cruz Azul’s decision to play at the Estadio Azul instead of the Estadio Azteca throughout this tournament has been liked by its long-suffering fans and therefore it is expected that in this first leg they will have a large majority of followers in the stands.