Club América defeated Tijuana 3-1 as they made their debut at home. The game was suspended for 30 minutes due to a thunderstorm but that did not slow down the Aguilas who scored immediately after play resumed and made a last minute goal to extend their lead against Xolos.
The game began almost immediately as Brian Rodriguez got the action started with a chance two minutes in. He sent a cross into the box, but the ball was defended out before it reached Rodrigo ‘Bufalo’ Aguirre. Not even a minute later
Igor Lichnovsky committed a foul outside of his area that ended in nothing as Tijuana was unable to take advantage of the free kick. ‘Bufalo’ had a chance in the fifth minute after he received a back heel pass from Alejandro Zendejas, but his shot was deflected out. A few minutes later Tijuana made their way up the field but Sebastian Cáceres intercepted the ball before it reached the middle of the box. In the ninth minute ‘Bufalo’ had another chance as he sent a rocket towards goal, but Jose Rodriguez hit it out and his defenders were able to kick the ball out before any yellow jerseys got to the rebound. It wasn’t until the 20th minute when Xolos had another chance, but the ball went straight to goalkeeper Rodolfo Cota’s hands. A few minutes later the Aguilas had a chance at goal after Zendejas sent a back heel pass to the feet of Kevin Alvarez but his shot at goal was deflected out. Three minutes later the visitors were given an amazing opportunity at the edge of the penalty box after Alvarez knocked down a player right at the line. Alvarez and the Aguilas were lucky the player did not step inside of the box for a potential penalty and that Xolos were unable to take advantage of the free kick. It wasn’t until the 32nd minute when the deadlock was broken.
Notable ejecución de Brian Rodríguez, quien llegó a 19 goles con las Águilas en la #LigaMX. ⚽️ Y así lo gana en AME. #J2 #AP25 | #LaLigaDeLaAfición pic.twitter.com/s4b6miYtbI
— Liga BBVA MX (@LigaBBVAMX) July 17, 2025
Cáceres made his way inside the box when Aaron Mejia came up behind him and tripped the Uruguayan and the referee was quick to blow his whistle and point towards the center circle. VAR did not intervene, and Brian Rodriguez was the one who stepped up to take the penalty as Henry Martin had yet to make his return from injury even though it looked as if his return was right around the corner. The Uruguayan was unfazed by Tijuana’s tactics to delay the game with hopes VAR would intervene and he stepped up and sent the ball to the far corner to open the score at the Ciudad de los Deportes. As the end of the half approached, Xolos were insistent in their pressure as they looked for the tiebreaker, but all of their attempts were for nothing as halftime came with the Aguilas up by one goal.
In the first two minutes of the second half two different Tijuana players were on the receiving end of unnecessary fouls by the Aguilas and Alejandro Zendejas received a yellow card for his foul. A few minutes later Brian Rodriguez also received a yellow card for a foul on Frank Boya. In the 52nd minute the Aguilas had a chance to extend their lead when Rodriguez made his way into the box where he sent the ball towards goal, but Jose Rodriguez stretched out his left foot to deflect the ball away from his net. It wasn’t until three minutes later that Tijuana found the equalizer.
Así el PRIMER gol de Ramiro Árciga en la #LigaBBVAMX.
— Liga BBVA MX (@LigaBBVAMX) July 17, 2025
Y así lo empató la Jauría.#J2 #AP25 | #LaLigaDeLaAfición pic.twitter.com/Kp5MfDLfR9
Kevin Castañeda sent in a through pass to Ramiro Árciga, who was wide open on the right side of the field, who then ran up the field and sent the ball towards the net past Cota who could do nothing to stop the ball. A few minutes later Zendejas had an opportunity inside the box, but he was unable to get the shot on target. It was then a few minutes later that the game was suspended due to lightning in the area as players and staff headed to the locker room for 30 minutes. After it was safe to continue the game restarted at the 63rd minute and the break was what América needed to get back on the right track.
En sus primeros 7 minutos con el @ClubAmerica, Isaías Violante se despachó con una gran asistencia. Luego vino un sólido cabezazo del Búfalo. Y así lo ganan las Águilas.#J2 #AP25 | #LaLigaDeLaAfición pic.twitter.com/IpQfnGE72M
— Liga BBVA MX (@LigaBBVAMX) July 17, 2025
Isaias Violante was subbed in when the game restarted, and he made an immediate impact. He crossed the ball into the box where ‘Bufalo’ jumped in the air to head the ball into the back of the net to regain the lead. Even though he was marked, no one could stop the Uruguayan from scoring his first goal of the season. A few minutes later the Aguilas had a chance to extend their lead on a corner kick as Brian Rodriguez sent the ball into the box, but Tijuana was able to kick the ball out of danger. In the 75th minute both teams made multiple changes as Xolos looked for the equalizer once again while the Aguilas needed to rest their players for the upcoming Campeon de Campeones this weekend. A minute later Brian Rodriguez went up the right side of the field where he sent the ball towards the net, but it went straight to the goalkeeper’s hands. In the 80th minute Raul Zuñiga had a chance to score a goal on his debut and on his former team, but the ball went out over the crossbar. Zuñiga had another big chance a few minutes later when he pressed Unai Bilbao which resulted in the player losing the ball and Zuñiga took the chance to go towards goal, but Mejia was there to stop his former teammate from taking a shot. It was then in the 89th minute when América plunged the dagger.
Cuarto doblete de Brian Rodríguez con @ClubAmerica; uno en #LeaguesCup y tres en #LigaMX.
— Liga BBVA MX (@LigaBBVAMX) July 17, 2025
¡GOLAZO! Y así se selló el contundente triunfo de las Águilas. #J2 #AP25 | #LaLigaDeLaAfición pic.twitter.com/dS6GtCutf7
Israel Reyes was on his end of the field when he sent in a long pass to the other side of the field where Rodriguez was there open and he went straight for goal upon receiving the ball. He sent the ball straight towards goal past Jose Rodriguez’s hands to extend the lead. There was nothing left to do, and Tijuana left Mexico City with a loss while América recorded an important victory as they gear up to play the Campeon de Campeones this weekend.
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