Xolos of Tijuana saved their unbeaten record in the Apertura 2024 Liga MX tournament with a 2-2 draw against Club América at Estadio Caliente, as part of Matchday 13.

 

The visitors started the match stronger but failed to create any significant chances on the "Aztec Dogs'" goal. Gradually, the "Pre-Hispanic Dogs" improved, but they too struggled to create any real danger.

 

 

Everything changed in the 26th minute, when Club América executed a perfect counterattack. Henry Martín, a former Xolos player, delivered a great pass inside the box to Alejandro Zendejas, who calmly slotted it past goalkeeper Toño Rodríguez to open the scoring. In the following minutes, the reigning champions of Mexican football came close to scoring multiple times but couldn't capitalize inside the box. Xolos suffered another blow in the 31st minute when head coach Juan Carlos Osorio was sent off following a heated exchange with América's coaching staff.

 

You may also be interested in its Spanish version: Salva Xolos invicto en casa, tras empatar ante América

 

However, in stoppage time of the first half, Gilberto Mora was fouled inside the box, leading to a penalty. Xolos captain Cristian Rivera coolly converted the spot-kick to level the match at 1-1 going into halftime.

 

 

Just after the restart, in the 46th minute, Domingo Blanco produced a moment of magic in the box, scoring a stunning goal to put Xolos ahead. Four minutes later, América nearly equalized, but Rodrigo Aguirre's shot from inside the box hit the post and went wide. Tijuana had opportunities to extend their lead in the following minutes but lacked precision in finishing their dangerous plays.

 

América capitalized on this and equalized in the 69th minute when Henry Martín held the ball up in the box before providing a great assist to Rodrigo Aguirre, who this time found the back of the net. In the dying moments of the match, Toño Rodríguez made way for Jesús Corona, who turned into the hero with three crucial saves, denying América a third goal.