MIAMI, Florida – Club America punched their ticket to the next round of the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup thanks to a 2-0 victory against Real Esteli of Nicaragua in the second leg of their Round One series on Wednesday night at the Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes in Mexico City.
The result earned the Liga MX giants a 3-2 win on aggregate and a date in the Round of 16 with long-time domestic rivals Chivas.
It was all Club America from the very start, and after several near-misses, Jonathan Rodriguez gave Las Aguilas a 1-0 lead in the 18’ when he fired a powerful right-footed shot into net.
Club America kept their foot on the gas and nearly made it two in the 34’ when a Brian Rodriguez shot glanced off the crossbar.
Real Esteli tried to gain some sort of foothold in the match, but it proved to be too tall a task and Club America earned themselves a 2-0 lead in the 54’ when a deep cross from Brian Rodriguez deflected off a Real Esteli defender and right to Alejandro Zendejas, who promptly scored.
Despite Club America owning a two-goal advantage in the match, Real Esteli were still just a goal away from forcing a tie-on aggregate as play drifted into the final half-hour, but creating chances was difficult for the visiting Nicaraguans.
Close calls from Zendejas and Alvaro Fidalgo had Club America fans ready to celebrate a third score, but in the end the goals from Jonathan Rodriguez and Zendejas proved to be sufficient, giving the seven-time Concacaf champions the series win
