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Club América have extended their record tally of Liga MX titles to 14 after defeating Tigres 4-1 on aggregate in the 2023 Apertura final.
Following a 1-1 draw in Thursday’s first leg at Tigres’ Estadio Universitario, Club América closed out Sunday’s second leg at their Estadio Azteca home ground with a 3-0 win through extra time.
Minutes after the opening whistle, Sunday’s second leg quickly began with an early delay in game. Following a clash between Tigres’ Jesús Angulo and Club América’s Igor Lichnovsky — who earned a yellow due to his challenge — both defenders needed an extended period of time to recover before play resumed in the eighth minute.
After the return to play, the first half developed into a tense one with neither side wanting to make a mistake. Coupled with highlight-worthy saves from Tigres’ Nahuel Guzman and Club América’s Angel Malagon in net, and a big miss from Las Aguilas forward Julián Quiñones, the cautious start to the game entered the halftime break with a 0-0 scoreline.
Pragmatic approaches from both teams continued in the start to the second half, although by the 71st minute, Tigres’ Rafael Carioca nearly opened up the scoresheet after a powerful long-range shot slammed into the woodwork.
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In the 80th minute, Club América then found themselves with a one-man advantage in the final stages of the game after a direct red card for Tigres’ Raymundo Fulgencio. After Fulgencio hit Quiñones in the face with his left hand, and an ensuing review from VAR confirmed the decision in the 84th minute, Tigres were left with only 10 players.
With their backs against the wall, Tigres nearly allowed the first goal of the night after Guzman was forced to make a pivotal 90th minute save from Club América’s Diego Valdes. Both unable to find the back of the net after additional injury time, the championship went into extra time to decide…
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