Philadelphia 0-1 Club América – América take the advantage home | OneFootball

América defeated Philadelphia Union by the minimum in the first leg of the 2026 Concachampions Round of 16.

América's lineup: Luis Malagón, Israel Reyes, Sebastián Cáceres, Aarón Mejía, Cristian Borja, Rodrigo Dourado, Erick Sánchez, Raphael Veiga, Brian Rodríguez, Alejandro Zendejas, and Patricio Salas.

The match started with América having more possession of the ball and a rival constantly looking for the counterattack, but with no precision in the final touch.

19′ GOAL FOR AMÉRICA – Great team play that starts with ‘Pato’ Salas to Brian Rodríguez, who leaves the ball for Raphael Veiga and he places it in the top corner.

The first 30 minutes from América were very interesting, with several combinations in midfield and being precise in defense to avoid danger from the opponent.

Luis Ángel Malagón was injured in a play where he tried to play out with the ball, and had to be substituted due to what appears to be a serious injury.

40′ Substitution – Out: Luis Ángel Malagón – In: Rodolfo Cota.

Malagón's injury affected the team's morale, and this allowed Philadelphia to take control of the ball and the offensive actions of the match, although fortunately without being able to capitalize on their opportunities.

65′ Substitutions – Out: Raphael Veiga and Alejandro Zendejas – In: Vinicius Lima and Alexis Gutiérrez.

The second half was better managed by the home team, pushing their lines forward and finding the goal defended by Rodolfo Cota on several occasions.

79′ Substitutions – Out: Patricio Salas and Brian Rodríguez – In: Jonathan dos Santos and José Zúñiga.

Patricio Salas' performance was noteworthy; he had a complete game both in attack and in defensive support. He should continue to be a starter.

The team was never able to recover after Malagón's injury. We don't know if it affected them emotionally, but they had a second half full of mistakes and lost all the intensity they had in attack.

But despite that, they managed to secure a very important victory, as well as scoring an away goal that could make the difference in this series.

The second leg will be played on Wednesday, March 18 at 07:00PM at the Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.