América Soars with Almada, Defeats Necaxa, and Draws Level with Toluca at the Top of the Apertura Standings
Por Carlos Rodríguez ·
The Águilas del América, led by Uruguayan coach Guillermo Almada, defeated Necaxa 2-4 on Sunday to tie Toluca for the lead in the 2026 Apertura tournament of Mexican soccer.
Henry Martín scored three goals and Colombian Miguel Borja added one to give the Azulcremas a hard-fought victory, after Necaxa—coached by Peruvian Juan Reynoso—took the lead twice with goals from Owen González and Argentine Julián Carranza.
Henry Martín scores a hat trick and propels América to the top
González scored with his right foot in the 37th minute to give the home team the lead, but two minutes later, Martín tapped in a ball in the box to make it 1-1.
Carranza converted a penalty kick in the 43rd minute, and Martín once again tied the game with a penalty kick in the 45+10th minute.
América played better in the second half and sealed the victory with goals by Borja—with his left foot in the 56th minute—and Martín—on another penalty kick—in the 75th minute.
América now has six wins, two draws, one loss, and 20 points—the same number as Toluca, which is ahead on goal difference.
On Saturday, in the most anticipated matchup of the weekend, Toluca tied 3-3 with defending champion Cruz Azul.
World Cup veteran Alexis Vega scored two goals and Brazilian Helinho added one to secure the draw.
For Cruz Azul, Uruguayan Gabriel Fernández scored a pair of goals and Argentine Nicolás Ibáñez added one (Filed as: América catches up to Toluca after a rout).
Querétaro stuns Chivas and tightens the race
Chivas de Guadalajara remained in third place, despite suffering an upset this Saturday at home against lowly Querétaro, which defeated them 0-2 with goals by Alí Ávila and Argentine Matías Coronel.
Querétaro moved up to fourth place with 17 points, the same number as León and Atlas, who are in fifth and sixth place, respectively.
This Sunday, León defeated Juárez FC 2-1 with a last-minute goal by José Alvarado.
And on Friday, Atlas earned three points with a 2-3 victory over Tijuana, thanks to goals by Moroccan Ryan Mmaee, Luis Esteves, and Argentine Florián Monzón.
In other results, Atlante beat Monterrey 4-2 on Friday.
Santos beat Pachuca, Tigres UANL defeated Puebla, and San Luis beat Pumas UNAM 2-3.
The Apertura will resume after the FIFA break with Matchday 11, which will be played from October 9 to 11.
Matches for Matchday 11 of the Mexican Apertura soccer season
Friday, Oct. 9: Puebla vs. León, Tigres UANL vs. Toluca, and Juárez FC vs. Tijuana.
Saturday, October 10: Querétaro vs. Atlante, Atlas vs. Guadalajara, and América vs. Monterrey.
Sunday, Oct. 11: San Luis vs. Santos Laguna, Pachuca vs. Necaxa, and Pumas UNAM vs. Cruz Azul (Filed as: América catches up to Toluca after a rout).
With information from EFE
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