Club America vs. Club Leon: Final score 1-3, Leon lift first title since 1992

Club Leon are champions of Mexico, and they’ve lifted the Liga MX trophy in dramatic fashion. Club America needed to overturn a 2-0 deficit from the first leg, but only briefly looked capable of doing so. The visitors scored early and went on to win by the same margin at Estadio Azteca as they did at home, putting together a 3-1 victory to win the final by an aggregate score of 5-1.

America had a chance to go up early, but failed to capitalize. Rubens Sambueza hit the post in the ninth minute and Raul Jimenez had a follow-up attempt blocked off the line. They were made to regret their finishing woes four minutes later, when Mauro Boselli put Leon up 3-0 on aggregate, turning in a pass from Carlos Peña.

The hosts got a bit of a lucky break heading into halftime, with Leon’s Juan Gonzalez Ibarra turning in an own goal to give America a route back into the match. He attempted to head clear a Sambueza shot that was likely going wide, but instead directed the ball into his own net. However, he made up for it quickly, heading in a corner in the 52nd minute to restore Leon’s three-goal lead and put America into a hole they had no chance to dig themselves out of.

Francisco “Maza” Rodriguez inadvertently put the tie to bed for good three minutes after Ibarra’s goal, getting himself sent off for taking down Matias Britos on a breakaway. With just 10 men to chase a lead, America had no chance of pulling off a comeback and conceded once more, with Edwin Hernandez rounding out the scoring in the 73rd minute.

America: Muñoz, Valenzuela (Aldrete 28’), Maza (red 55’), Mosquera, Layun, Mendoza, Medina (Andrade 55’), Sambueza, Aguilar, Mina (Rey 68’), Jimenez

Goals: Ibarra (OG 42’)

Leon: Yarbrough, Hernandez, Marquez, Ibarra, Magallon, Montes, Loboa (Burbano 74’), Vazquez, Peña, Britos (Arizala 61’), Boselli (Hernandez 83’)

Goals: Boselli (13’), Ibarra (52’), Hernandez (73’)