Monterrey Takes Control of Liga MX Quarterfinal Series with 1-0 Win Over América
Mexico City – Monterrey secured a 1-0 victory over América in the first leg of their Liga MX quarterfinal series on Wednesday, fueled by a goal from Rodrigo Canales.The win positions Monterrey favorably heading into Saturday’s return leg at the Ciudad de los Deportes Stadium in Mexico City.
Canales scored the lone goal of the match, marking his 43rd in Mexican soccer and his fourth against América specifically. He also contributed an assist,setting up the play that lead to the goal. América struggled to find the back of the net, managing only one shot on goal in injury time, which was deflected by goalkeeper Luis Cárdenas.
Monterrey now holds a significant advantage, requiring América to win by a margin of two goals to advance, leveraging the tiebreaker criterion of regular season table position in their favor.
The match also marked the league debut for veteran spanish defender Sergio Ramos, who had been sidelined by injury as arriving in Mexico last year.
Elsewhere in Liga MX Playoff Action:
* Toluca Completes Comeback: reigning champions Toluca overcame a one-goal deficit to defeat Ciudad Juárez 2-1. Jesús Murillo gave Ciudad juárez an early lead, but Antonio Briseño and Paulinho – a three-time scoring champion in Mexican soccer – responded with goals in the 56th and 65th minutes respectively, securing a favorable position for the return leg at the Nemesio Diez Stadium. Ciudad Juárez will need a two-goal victory to advance. Goalkeeper Sebastián Jurado played a key role in preserving Toluca’s lead with several crucial saves.
* Tijuana Dominates Tigres: Tijuana delivered a commanding 3-0 performance against Tigres, thanks to goals from Kevin Castañeda (27th minute), Mourad El Ghezouani (54th minute), and Gilberto Mora (71st minute). Mora’s goal sealed the victory for Tijuana. Tigres now faces a daunting task, needing to win by three goals in the second leg at the Estadio Universitario de Nuevo León to stay alive in the competition. This marked Tigres’ first away defeat of the tournament, having previously recorded four wins and four draws on the road during the regular phase.
The first leg round will close on Thursday when Chivas hosts Cruz Azul.
AP Sports: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
