USMNT’s Alex Zendejas conjures up Club America Liguilla winner

Zendejas came off the bench to score a huge goal

Alex Zendejas is doing big things for club and country.

Zendejas scored the game’s only goal as Club América beat Chivas Guadalajara 1-0 in the first leg of their Liga MX Liguilla semifinal.

The U.S. men’s national team winger has drawn plenty of attention after making his choice at the national team level, but has of late seen his previously sure spot in América’s lineup become less certain. A February injury kept him off the field for a month, and manager Fernando Ortiz opted for a slow build through March and early April as a result.

Zendejas started the final four matches of América’s Clausura schedule, but after a muscle injury in a late April match against FC Juárez, was an unused substitute in the first leg of their quarterfinal against Atlético San Luis, and only played 35 minutes off the bench in the second leg.

Starting on the bench again at Estadio Akron, Zendejas did the best thing he could do to push for a start in the second leg. After entering at halftime, he ran onto a pass slipped in behind the Chivas defense, cutting back against defender Jesús Orozco before firing a surprise shot past him and goalkeeper Miguel Jiménez.

The resulting 1-0 scoreline stood up, giving América a crucial advantage after playing the first leg in Guadalajara. In Liga MX’s playoff system, there is no away goals rule, and no extra time until the final; the tiebreaker favors the team with the better regular season record.

Las Águilas ended up being the No. 2 seed ahead of Chivas on goal difference, meaning that a win, a tie, or even a one-goal loss in Sunday’s second leg will send them through to the final.

Watch Zendejas give América a crucial win

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