Leon, second final in a year

Finally, we know the first finalist of the Grita México Apertura 2021, the “panzas verdes” as they are colloquially called in Mexico, defeated Miguel Herrera's Tigres at home, two goals to one, with this result they tied the aggregate score and due to their position in the standings, they booked their ticket to the Mexican soccer final.

This final will be the second one for Leon in a year, since, in the Guardianes 2020, León also reached the final, after defeating Puebla in the quarterfinals, Chivas in the semi-finals, and finally beating Pumas to win their eighth title.

Leon, strong team over the last few years

Moreover, León has become one of the strongest teams in the competition, besides being a constant guest to the Liga MX main stage. Also, Leon has been playing in the playoffs since the 2018 Apertura.

In the Clausura 2019, they arrived as league leaders, breaking the record for consecutive victories, and were the favorites to win the title. In the quarterfinals, they defeated Tijuana and later beat América in the semifinals, but in the final, they lost to Tigres and closed the tournament in a bitter way.

In the 2019 Apertura, León showed the same regularity as in the previous tournament, however, they remained in second place in the standings. This time, Leon were knocked out in the quarterfinals after losing to the no longer existent Monarcas Morelia.

After winning the Guardianes 2020 title, León finished sixth in the overall standings in the following tournament and had to play in the playoffs, where it ended its participation after being defeated by eleventh-placed Toluca.

Leon vs Tigres second-leg resume

Ángel Mena once again became the hero for León, as he did in the Quarter-Final series, and tonight, in a dramatic game at the Nou Camp Stadium, León qualified for the Final of the Apertura 2021 Tournament, their fourth final since returning to the Mexican soccer first division.

“La Fiera” left Tigres stranded on the pitch, unable to hold on to the tiny lead with which they arrived at the Volcán, falling 2-1 on Saturday and being left out of the competition due to the better position in the general standings of Leon, who will be looking to win their ninth league championship.  

The home side took the lead when the clock was just seven minutes old. Ángel Mena received the ball inside the box and with a powerful, low-range shot beat Nahuel Guzmán, who, despite his stretch, was unable to change the trajectory of the ball. 

Nevertheless, Tigres reacted quickly and in the 16th minute, in a set-piece, Diego Reyes managed to finish off a dead ball inside the area to equalize the score and give the team coached by Piojo Herrera the lead once again. 

With the score even, they went to the half-time and in the second half, Ariel Holan, the local coach, sent Fernando Navarro and Luis Montes onto the field, players who changed the Leonese team, who went forward with all their weapons in search of the goal that made the difference. 

And they found it in the 85th minute when they pressed and pressed on Nahuel Guzmán's goal, who had already saved his own goal on a couple of chances after Herrera decided to defend the result and took André-Pierre Gignac off the field. 

Mena surprised at the opposite post with a cross that no defender from Tigres could reach. The Ecuatorian reached the far post with all his strength to leap up and send the ball into the back of the net and score the goal that sent León to the Apertura 2021 Final.