The two-game Liga MX Apertura final between Leon and Club America would have been all but over after the first-leg on Thursday, had Rafael Marquez’s deflected header creptinto the net rather than bounce off the top side of the crossbar, Sporting News claims. Instead, America goes into Sunday’s second-leg at the Estadio Azteca trailing 2-0 but still with afighting chance of overturning the deficit and lifting what would be a consecutive championship for the record 12th time.
After the game, Miguel Herrera, who will oversee hisfinal game as America coach on Sunday before taking over as head coach of the Mexican national team, revealed that he was satisfied with his team’s performance. “I liked how Americaplayed, we created opportunities, but we couldn’t finish,” he said. “Now we’ll go to the Azteca to try and turn the situation around.”
Even if America had thebetter of play, it was Leon that managed to put the ball in the back of the net twice, thanks to goals from Carlos Pena and Mauro Boselli. Coach GustavoMotasas noted that his team wouldn’t sit back in Sunday’s return leg. “We’re going to go out to win (in the Azteca),” he declared in his post-game pressconference.