LIGA MX
América’s record vs León in short tournaments
América take on the Esmeraldas in the quarter final round. It will be the fifth time the two clubs have met at this stage of the competition.
The regular phase of the Apertura 2023 tournament is over, and this week the remaining eight teams head into the quarter final round - two legged ties which will be decided by the end of next week. One of the most attractive contests of the fiesta grande is the clash between América and León. The Azulcremas, who ended the regular season at the top of the table, start out as favorites but the emeralds will be looking to cause an upset.
The two clubs have faced each other a total of four times at this stage of the tournament, with a balance of two América victories and three eliminations at the hands of the Fiera. The first time that both teams met was in the semi-final of the Winter 1997 tournament, where the Guanajuatenses advanced to the final winning 3-2 on aggregate (0-1, 3-1) but lost the championship a week later to Cruz Azul (1-2 agg.).
In the Summer 2001 competition, the team from Coapa found themselves up against the Esmeraldas again - this time in the quarter finals where they managed to gain revenge. The first game ended level at 1-1 with goals from Uribe and Murguía, but there was no contest in the second leg at the Azteca - the Águilas won 4-1 to advance to the semis, where they would crash out, losing to Pachuca.
The only final
In the Apertura 2013, América arrived as the reigning champions and aiming for back-to-back championship wins. In the first match played in the Bajío, León came away with a 2-0 advantage, leaving the Azulcremas with it all to do in the second leg. But the dream of consecutive titles fell apart after América lost the second leg 3-1.
In different circumstances, the 13-time Mexican soccer champions was able to finally remove the thorn of that fateful defeat with a 5-3 aggregate win over León to advance to the semi-finals of the Apertura 2015 (1-4, 2-1), where they were knocked out by Pumas (4-3 agg.).
The last time that América and León faced each other in the Liga MX Liguilla was in the Clausura 2019. On that occasion, the Azulcremas won the first leg by the minimum, but in the second leg León won by the same score, however, the Esmeraldas advanced because they had ended in a better position in the general table (first on 41 points with América, fifth on 29).