MEXICO CITY (AP) — Top-seeded Toluca salvaged a 0-0 draw against defending champion America on Thursday in the first leg of the Mexican Clausura championship series.
The Aguilas, who finished with the second-best record in the regular season, had the best scoring chances but missed a couple of clear opportunities.
“It was an evenly played match. Toluca came to defend pretty strong. We proposed it, but did not know how to finish our plays,” Aguilas coach Andre Jardine said. “It is a wide-open series. I think the second leg will be a different kind of match.”
The return leg will be played next Sunday at Toluca, a city located 66 kilometers (around 40 miles) from the nation's capital.
America, which reached the final after knocking out crosstown rival Cruz Azul in a rematch of the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinals, is aiming to become the second team to win four straight championships in Mexico. Only Chivas, from 1958 until 1962, has won four titles in a row, although with a different format.
Toluca, which is third on the all-time list of champions in Mexico with 11 titles, is trying to end a 15-year drought. The last time Toluca won a title was in the Clausura 2010 tournament. Since then, the team has qualified for three finals and lost them all.
“We played a great match on the defensive side. We need to rest knowing that the second leg is going to be as intense as this one,” Toluca coach Antonio Mohamed said. “We know what type of opponent we are facing and it's going to be much harder than today.”
After the domestic final, America is set to face the LAFC in Los Angeles on May 31 in a qualification playoff for the last spot in the Club World Cup.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Carlos Rodriguez, The Associated Press
