📝Club América 2-0 Cruz Azul: Edson Álvarez scores brace to win title | OneFootball

In the Azteca Stadium on Sunday night, Edson Álvarez stepped up as the unlikely goal-scorer to brush away the challenge from Cruz Azul in the Apertura 2018 Liguilla final.  Though nominally a defensive player, Álvarez popped up twice with composure in the final third.

Many around the club thought this was the season to vanquish any curses en route to an elusive title bnfortunately for fans of the cementeros, Cruz Azul withered under heavy pressure in the second half.

José de Jesús Corona had a solid performance in goal for la Máquina but even he could not keep América off the score-sheet.

The two teams played to a dull draw in the Liguilla final first leg on Thursday and that trend more or less continued through the first half of Sunday’s match. The second leg sprung into action after the intermission as América pushed for their breakthrough.

Mexican international Álvarez scored his first goal of the season in the championship series second leg in the 51st minute. Oribe Peralta forced a turnover from Iván Marcone and the 21-year-old curled in a left-footed shot.

After going ahead, the azulcrema put their foot down on the pedal. Henry Martín had a 1-v-1 chance in the box broken up by Pablo Aguilar in the 63rd minute. Renato Ibarra cut in from the right side but sent his left-footed drive well-over the net from close range in the 65th minute. In the 68th minute, Martín drove into the area again but Cruz Azul was able to clear the danger.

As the match wound down with América leading by one goal, tempers flared on the Cruz Azul bench.

Substitute defender Gerardo Flores tracked a loose ball onto the field before confronting and striking out at an América player. The match official rushed to the scene and showed Flores a red card in the 87th minute.

In the final minute of regulation, Paraguayan forward Cecilio Domínguez took a heavy shot that Corona parried directly into the path of Álvarez. The América academy product appeared to scuff his contact on the ball but still beat the Cruz Azul goalkeeper at the near post.

Win the victory, América now have more domestic titles than any other team in Mexico with 13.

The Águilas won at the Azteca through an academy graduate against a fierce rival to win a title and set them apart from all other teams in the country.