Guadalajara Takes the Upper Hand in the Clásico Nacional Trilogy
In a thrilling encounter at the Estadio Akron, Guadalajara secured a crucial 1-0 victory over their arch-rivals, América, in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals. The win marked a perfect start to Gerardo Espinoza’s tenure as Guadalajara’s coach.
The match was a tightly contested affair, with both teams struggling to create scoring opportunities. América’s Erick Sánchez came closest to breaking the deadlock in the 27th minute, but his weak shot was easily saved by Raúl Rangel.
Guadalajara’s Alan Pulido sparked life into the match in the 58th minute, unleashing a powerful shot that forced Ángel Malagón to deflect the ball with a spectacular save.
The decisive moment arrived in the 76th minute, courtesy of a fortunate deflection. Roberto Alvarado’s cross found Mateo Chávez, whose header was cleared by Malagón, only for the ball to rebound off Sebastián Cáceres and into the net.
América pushed hard for an equalizer, with Erick Sánchez and Henry Martín coming close, but Raúl Rangel’s heroics in goal ensured Guadalajara maintained their slender lead.
The victory gives Guadalajara a vital advantage ahead of the second leg, scheduled to take place at the Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes next Wednesday. The aggregate score will determine the winner, with the away goals rule serving as the tiebreaker.
Before that, the two teams will clash again in a Liga MX encounter at the Estadio Akron on Saturday, adding another layer of excitement to this thrilling trilogy of matches