It was May 26, it was raining and it was also a final between América and Cruz Azul. An almost identical situation to what happened 11 years ago. That time the blue-cream eagle was reborn from the ashes, that time the Cruz Azul sank. Tonight it seemed that cement dreams could come true with poetic revenge. The Blue put its rival par excellence in trouble, made him gasp and the aim did not want to pay attention to him. It seemed to be the night to break the last curse that remained for the celestials: beating their nemesis in a final. He was left alone in a sigh because America took out the gavel to liquidate any idea other than expanding his story. The Americanists, with a solitary goal from Henry Martín, won the MX League, the 15th in their history, the two-time championship and another flight to greatness.
The first half was painted blue. The cement team had the best chances at goal and the worst luck in shots at goal. Luis Ángel Malagón defended América’s goal like the student presenting his thesis: a lot of determination and nervous smiles. The goalkeeper saved two headers from Antuna and Sepúlveda. Rivero, captain of Azul, wasted a shot in front of the goal. The American offensive remained somewhat immobile except for a kick by the Spaniard Álvaro Fidalgo who ended up lost in the stands.
The second half started a little faster for both teams. The sky blue fans shouted when their team had gone ahead on the scoreboard, but the referee immediately noted a foul against América on the Azteca Stadium field. Due to an error by the Argentine Rotondi, Cruz Azul suffered a penalty against them. Henry Martín, scorer and captain of América, shot without fear to make it 1-0, an injury that left the cement company very affected. The spirit of Martín Anselmi’s team collapsed. On the other side, the Televisa team enjoyed watching their opponent bleed to death. Cruz Azul fought, still in a state of shock, to try to get some agonizing shot.
The first time both clubs met in a Liga MX final was in the 1971-72 campaign, where the cement workers won by a 4.1 landslide. In the 1988-89 season, the American team took the trophy after a 5-4 score. In 2013, the final that does not forget Americanism, ended with Azulcrema’s victory on penalties (2-2 and 4-2). In 2018, Cruz Azul fell again to their neighbors (2-0).
It was an emotional match. Cruz Azul, which won the Liga MX in 2021 to break its curse of 23 years without success, wanted to close the cycle. The cement company’s team needed to have its most repudiated rival on the field, the one who has subjected it to a series of humiliations. This May 26, 2024 has become another episode of pain.
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