Two of the best clubs on the continent will meet in the CONCACAF Champions League final later this month, as title holders Club América and fellow Liga MX club Tigres advanced from their respective CCL semifinal series on Tuesday night.
French international Andre-Pierre Gignac scored two late goals to give 10-man Tigres a 2-0 win in Monterrey on Tuesday (Click here for highlights). Tigres advanced 2-0 on aggregate after the teams played to a scoreless draw in the first leg in Queretaro last month.
Things were a little tighter for América, who went down a man late in the second half at Estadio Azteca and needed an extra time goal to beat Santos Laguna 1-0 on aggregate (Highlights).
Tigres played with 10 men for the final 19 minutes on Tuesday, as midfielder Jesus Duenas was shown his second yellow in the 71st. The ejection made no difference to Gignac, who picked up a deflected cross at the top of the box and fired a low blast into the bottom-left corner to give Tigres the lead in the 84th minute before sealing the victory with a tricky chip in the 88th.
Goals were even harder to come by in the América-Santos series. The teams were scoreless after 180 minutes, with América entering extra time down a man after Darwin Quintero was shown a straight red late in the second half at Estadio Azteca. Michael Arroyo fired home the winner in the first period of extra time, slipping a free kick through the hands of Santos goalkeeper Agustin Marchesin – who otherwise had a very solid night – to give América the win.
The two-legged final will begin on April 20 at Tigres, while defending champions América will host the decisive second leg at the Azteca on April 27. Both teams beat MLS clubs in the quarterfinals, with Tigres narrowly topping Real Salt Lake and América besting Seattle Sounders.
