Only one team has eliminated América from the Liguilla after losing the first leg 3-1
Las Águilas take a comfortable two-goal over Atlético San Luis into the Clausura 2023 quarter final return leg, although their pass to the semi-finals is far from guaranteed.
Jonathan Rodríguez, Diego Valdés and Leonardo Suárez all found the net for América in the first leg of the Clausura 2023 quarter final at the Alfonso Lastras. Leo Bonatini pulled one back for Atlético San Luis, who must now visit the Azteca and win the return leg by a difference of three goals. The away goals rule no longer counts, just the aggregate score.
In short tournament history, and during the final phase of the competition, the Azulcremas have taken a 3-1 first leg lead on seven occasions, (not counting this edition), and ended up being eliminated in just one of those ties.
América let slip a two-goal advantage in their Apertura 2005 quarter final clash with Tigres. Mario Carrillo’s side had dominated the tournament up to that point, beating Tigres 1-3 at the Volcán in the first leg on 1 December. However, when the two teams returned to settle the tie at the Azteca three days later, they were stunned 1-4 - Peralta, Gaitán (2) and Julio César grabbing the goals for the visitors to eliminate América from the Fiesta Grande.
The teams who have lost to the Águilas with a 3-1 first leg score
The table below shows the six occasions that América won the first leg by three goals to one and managed to advance:
| Tournament | Round | Result First Leg | Lap Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter 1997 | Quarter final | América 3-1 Guadalajara | Guadalajara 0-1 América |
| Summer 2002 | Quarter final | Mercy 1-3 América | América 3-1 La Piedad |
| Clausura 2005 | Semi-final | América 3-1 Cruz Azul | Cruz Azul 1-3 América |
| Apertura 2006 | Quarter final | Atlas 1-3 América | América 3-3 Atlas |
| Clausura2012 | Quarter final | Pachuca 1-3 América | América 0-1 Pachuca |
| Clausura 2019 | Quarter final | Cruz Azul 1-3 América | América 0-1 Cruz Azul |
There was another occasion when América were knocked out of the Liguilla after winning the first leg by two goals. During the quarter final of the Clausura 2014 tournament, the Águilas defeated Santos 5-3 at the Azteca but lost the return 3-1. It ended 6-6 on aggregate but the Laguneros advanced for finishing higher in the table (Santos ended the regular season in fourth, América in fifth)
Finally, the history books show that Atlético San Luis have never beaten América by a difference of three goals. Their most comfortable victory against the Azulcremas occurred in the 2019 Clausura Copa MX, when they defeated them 2-0 at the Alfonso Lastras.