United States men’s national team winger Alejandro Zendejas scored the 49th-minute winner for Club América in their 2-1 win over Monterrey in the first leg of the Liga MX final on Thursday.

The final took place at the Estadio Cuauhtemoc in Puebla – the temporary home of Club América’s championship series – and began with an early injury setback for the visitors. After a run down the left wing, Monterrey’s Lucas Ocampos suffered an apparent muscle injury, which led to a substitution in the fourth minute.

Nevertheless, Martin Demichelis’ Monterrey had most of the ball in the first half. Héctor Moreno, Víctor Guzmán and Sergio Canales distribute the ball.

The Rayados finally had the opportunity to score their first goal in the 35th minute after Canales took advantage of a rare gap left by a defensive Club América. The Spanish midfielder shot from distance to give Monterrey a 1-0 lead.

In response, Las Aguilas wasted little time. Thanks to a counterattack that led to a scramble for a loose ball in the 18-yard penalty area, full-back Kevin Álvarez capitalized on a failed chance from Zendejas and shot the ball into the net in the 39th minute.

Club América kept up their pressure and made a breakthrough after half-time.

Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images

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With a chance to take the lead in the 49th minute, midfielder Álvaro Fidalgo ran forward with the ball before catching Zendejas with a precise, line-splitting pass. The US winger shot cleverly to the left of the goalkeeper, making the final score 2-1 for Club America.

To make things even more difficult for Monterrey in the second half, there appeared to be another blow to a key figure when Canales asked to be substituted in the 65th minute. Due to his absence, the Rayados struggled to regain the momentum of the home team, who increased their possession as time expired.

Until the final whistle, Las Aguilas secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory.

With this result, Club América will go into Sunday’s away game in Monterrey with a narrow lead in the final.

If the Mexico City giants win, they will become the first to win three straight championships in Liga MX’s short season.

The title would also further increase their league trophy tally to 16, giving them a lead of four championships to Chivas’ 12.

Monterrey will look to bounce back and claim its sixth title and its first under Demichelis. The championship would be the second for Los Rayados since 2019.