2023-12-18 04:58:02
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Julián Quiñones and Paraguayan Richard Sánchez scored goals in the first period of overtime Sunday night and América defeated Tigres 3-0 to take the title of Mexico’s Apertura tournament.
Quiñones, a naturalized player of Colombian origin who is experiencing his first tournament with the azulcremas, first shook the nets at 91 minutes and then Sánchez added a goal at 104, while Uruguayan Jonathan Rodríguez sealed the score with a goal at 120 .
The first leg had ended tied 1-1.
With their victory, the Eagles put an end to a five-year drought without being crowned and reached 14 league championships to consolidate themselves as the most successful team in the country. Chivas, their closest pursuer, has 12.
The Eagles had been shipwrecked in the semifinals in the last three tournaments and Brazilian coach André Jardine came to get out of that bad streak and achieved it on the first attempt in a competition in which the team was the leader in points, the one that scored the most goals and the one who received the least.
With its victory, América also extended its streak of games without losing to Tigres to 12, which has not managed to beat it since 2019.
Tigres, which was the reigning champion, was looking for its ninth crown and also to be the fourth team to be two-time champion since 1996, when two tournaments began to be played per year.
The university students complicated that goal with the expulsions of Raymundo Fulngencio in the 80th and their Argentine goalkeeper Nahuel Guzmán in the 95th.
Before an Azteca stadium that looked full, Tigres started better and had the first dangerous move in the ninth minute with a shot from outside the area by Frenchman André-Pierre Gignac that went slightly off target.
América responded at 27 with a shot inside the area by Chilean Diego Valdés that was rejected with difficulty by Guzmán.
The university students flirted with their first goal in the 33rd minute with a header from Gignac, but goalkeeper Luis Malagón deflected the ball into a corner kick with a great save.
Before the break the Águilas came close again with a header from Quiñones that went wide.
The second half began with balance and with few dangerous arrivals until Brazilian Rafael Carioca took a shot that hit the post in the 70th.
América responded a minute later with a shot inside the area by Spanish Álvaro Fidalgo that was rejected by Guzmán.
Shortly after, Tigres was left with 10 when Fulgencio was sent off for slapping Quiñones in the face in the 80th.
At the beginning of extra time, América took the lead when Quiñones made a shot inside the area that was rejected by Guzmán, but the rebound fell to him again and he did not waste a second chance to send the ball to the back of the net .
The situation became more complicated for the visitors shortly after in a counterattack play in which Guzmán fouled Quiñones and referee Adonai Escobedo showed him a second yellow card.
América increased its advantage when Sánchez entered the area from the right and took a powerful shot that surpassed the goal of goalkeeper Carlos Rodríguez.
As the game expired, Rodríguez cut down a player and took a shot that entered Rodríguez’s left post to make it 3-0.
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