America Advances to the Liga MX Final in an Instant Classic: Things We Learned From America 4-3 Cruz Azul | OneFootball

In one of the greatest Liga MX playoff games in recent history, the reigning champion, Club América advanced to the final after beating regular season leaders, Cruz Azul, 4–3 in the semifinals.

After a lackluster 0–0 draw in the first leg of the tie, América arrived to the second leg needing to win in order to advance. Another draw and Cruz Azul would've advanced for it being the higher seed. Las Águilas were vastly superior for the first hour of the game and entered the final 15 minutes of the 90 up 3–1.

Cruz Azul fought back and momentarily equalized in the 87th minute with a stunner of a goal by Amaury Morales, putting them in position to advance to the final. It appeared La Máquina had heroically mounted the comeback, but América was given a penalty in the first action after play resumed, and Rodrigo Aguirre dispatched it to send Las Águilas to their third consecutive final.

It was a magical night at the Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes, and here's what we learned from América's latest playoff victory over its city rivals, Cruz Azul.

Greatest Liga MX Semifinals Game Ever?

What a treat of a game this was. It had everything, incredible goals, comebacks, drama, tension and, as usually happens in these instances, controversy.

Cruz Azul played a dreadful first hour of the game and it seemed like its season would end without putting up much of a fight. The final 30 plus minutes saw five goals scored, with both teams trading punches. Ignacio Rivero scored to make it 1–2 in the 68th minute, Ramon Juárez countered and scored América's third with a header in the 72nd minute and seemingly put the nail in La Máquina's coffin.

Madness ensued once the clock hit the 80th minute, Gabriel Fernández pulled one back for the hosts with 10 minutes until stoppage time, and Morales's volley seven minutes later made the stadium go into an absolute frenzy as the comeback looked completed. It was short-lived though, after a lengthy VAR check, Aguirre scored from the spot to send América to the final, leaving Cruz Azul players noticeably angered with the referee's decision.

This is how a derby in a semifinal should be played. Both team's left it all on the pitch and gave fans a worthy spectacle. It might've not been a perfectly played match—especially by Cruz Azul—but it had action and intensity throughout, making it one of those games that can make anyone fall in love with the sport.

Everyone was exited once it was confirmed we would get El Clásico joven in the semifinals. A rematch of last season's final, the best team of the Apertura 2024 against the reigning back-to-back champions. In the end, the second leg of the semifinal will live in the annals of Liga MX history as one of its greatest, most memorable playoff games of all time.

Cruz Azul's Record Breaking Season Ends With Yet Another Playoff Loss Against Biggest Rival

The more things change, the more they stay the same. For the seventh time since the turn of the century, the sixth in 11 years and the second in 2024, Cruz Azul fell in the playoffs against América.

Cruz Azul was a shadow of its regular season self for long stretches of the match. There were players that looked unprepared for a game of this magnitude and it cost them dearly in the first half. However, unlike in previous playoff losses, the team showed character and fought until the end, getting within minutes of securing the comeback and reaching the final.

The team's underlying issues were highlighted in the loss. Both center backs struggle in the air and that directly led to the final goal. Kevin Mier's been praised for his ball playing skills as a goalkeeper playing almost as a center back in possession, but he got caught out of position for América's stunning second goal.

In the end, Martín Anselmi's record breaking side saw its season come to an end in an all too familiar way. It's another chapter in the long book of the team's heartbreaking playoff defeats. For the fanbase, Cruz Azul ended the season perhaps in the only way it couldn't afford to.

America Should be the Favorite to Win the Final

All América does is win, it thrives in knockout rounds and the team once again showed why it's dominated Mexican soccer for the past year.

André Jardine improved his Liga MX playoff record with América to 8–0, an incredible feat for the Brazilian manager who is cementing his position among the great managers of América's history. Jardine won the chess match against Anselmi, exploiting Cruz Azul's weaknesses better than any team had been able to do all season.

After a rocky regular season, Las Águilas entered the playoffs through the play-in. Now, it's defeated the two best teams in the regular season en route to the final. It's a team with vast playoff experience and it once again displayed its champion DNA. There's a reason why this is the winningest team in Mexican soccer and it's because it thrives in big games like this. Monterrey awaits in the final and it hasn't seen a team anywhere close to América's level in its path to the final.

Following the madness of its fantastic semifinals victory and continuing its dominance over its Mexico City rivals, América are 180 minutes away from a third consecutive title and from going four titles clear atop the all-time Liga MX leaderboard with its 16th league trophy.