Following the completion of another exciting and tightknit Liga MX regular season, eight of the top teams in the competitive Mexican league entered the Apertura playoffs with hopes of bringing a championship to their respective grounds. After wrapping up the 17-game schedule with 11 wins, 4 draws and only two losses, defending Clausura champion América landed the top seed in the field while Santos (9-6-2), León (8-6-3) and Cruz Azul (8-5-4) solidified the remainder of the top half. América took down Cruz Azul in the recent Clausura final and even though many felt a rematch could be in store at some point during the postseason, but Azul was bounced out of the tournament in the opening round by Toluca, eliminating any chances of a repeat showdown.
América - under the direction of new El Tri head coach Miguel Herrera - got past Tigres in the opening round and moved past upstart Toluca by way of a 3-2 aggregate to reach the final and as they make their closing preparations for the two-legged championship series, Las Águilas know a tough test lies ahead in the form of León. Los Panzas Verdes remain in strong form after finishing the regular season third in the 18-team Mexican league. Notching seven total goals in the quarterfinal series to get past Morelia, León added another five tallies against Santos Laguna, taking down the Guerreros with a 5-3 aggregate victory in the semis.
Looking to lead his team to victory in what would be the club's twelfth league championship, América boss Miguel Herrera knows upending a talented León team won't be simple, especially since the sides played to even draws in the last two meetings. "We have to work hard and understand that there are two games left," Herrera, whose América side is currently tied with Chivas for the most league titles (11), said recently. "But we are in the only situation in which we can aspire to winning consecutive titles."
In the last meeting between the 2013 Apertura finalists on July 31, América and León played to a 1-1 draw at the Estadio Nou Camp. With the opening leg of the final set to take place at the same stadium - the home grounds of Los Panzas Verdes - both sides will look to establish themselves in a more efficient manner offensively. The first goal of the July meeting came from León's Mauro Boselli, who played a beautiful header from Luis Montes into the back of the net. Not to be outdone, Miguel Layún of América fired back four minutes later with a right footed blast that got past keeper William Yarbrough. The scoring would come to a close after Layún's tally as the Liga MX rivals walked away with a draw.
León will now look to keep their three-game home winning streak going before returning to the Estadio Azteca for the final leg of the championship series. If Los Panzas Verdes are able to take down América, manager Gustavo Matosas and company will bring home the club's first title since 1992.
América vs. León - First Leg: DATE, TIME & VIEWING INFO
DATE: Thursday, December 12
TIME: 9:00pm, ET
TV COVERAGE: Telemundo
LIVE STREAM: Available by visiting Deportes Telemundo
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