The Atlas foxes fell 3-2 to La Fiera. The tricolor Ángel Mena scored a double at the Nou Camp stadium.
Atlas is facing a great opportunity to become Mexican soccer champion again after 70 years of waiting, but to achieve it this Sunday they must beat León, from Ecuadorian attacker Ángel Mena, by two goals difference in the second leg of the Final of the Apertura-2021 tournament.
On Thursday, the ‘Foxes’ from Atlas visited ‘La Fiera’ at the Nou Camp stadium in the first leg in which they were twice ahead, but ended with a 3-2 defeat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4oIce_gnpw
In the final, the criterion of best position in the table at the end of the regular phase no longer applies to define a winner in the event of a global tie, therefore, to be champion, Atlas must beat León by two goals difference .
Throughout the regular phase, the ‘Zorros’, led by Argentine Diego Cocca, achieved five of their eight wins by two or more goals.
In the event that Atlas won by one goal and the aggregate scoreboard ended with any tie, overtime would be played and, if equality persisted, penalties would be taken.
Channels that broadcast live
TUDN, Azteca, ESPN, Fox Sports, Afizzionado, Marca Claro (YouTube) and Star + (online)
Schedules to see live
- 18:15 Tijuana and Los Angeles
- 20:15 Mexico City and Austin (Texas)
- 21:15 Ecuador, Colombia, Peru and New York
- 23:15 Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brasilia (Brazil)
- 02:15 on Monday in England and Portugal
- 03:15 on Tuesday in Spain, Italy and Germany
66% of the title
León lost six games during the tournament (four in the regular phase and two in the league) and only two by difference of two or more goals against, one of them 2-0, precisely against Atlas for the tenth day at the stadium. Jalisco.
‘La Fiera’ seeks the ninth league title to add it to those achieved in the campaigns 1947-48, 1948-49, 1951-52, 1955-56, 1991-92, Apertura-2013, Clausura-2014 and Guard1anes-2020.
In his first tournament as coach of the León, Argentine Ariel Holan is close to giving him his second title after having crowned him in the Leagues Cup in September.
Despite the 3-2 lead in the final over Atlas, “there is nothing definite, this is 180 minutes,” said Holan and calculated that “we have 66 percent of the result in favor, but that does not mean that this is armed, on the contrary, the rival team is very brave and is going to play at home ”.
The series will close this Sunday at the Jalisco stadium in the city of Guadalajara.
Will they open the bottle of whiskey?
The great expectation of this final is centered on the possibility of witnessing the end of the curse that has haunted the Atlas for seven decades in which it has not been able to win the league title since it won the only one it owns, that of the 1950 season. -51.
The rojinegros were crowned on April 22, 1951 and this Sunday 70 years, seven months and 22 days will have passed since then.
“Sunday will be the best historical opportunity for the people of the Atlas, they will see a team that is going to surrender, I am sure that our fans will encourage us and when that happens, miracles occur,” said Cocca, who lives his third tournament as coach of the ‘Foxes’.
In all these years, the Atlas has been very close to the title on two occasions: it was runner-up in points in the 1965-66 season and a finalist in the Summer-1999 tournament.
The ‘Zorros’ hope to be able to open on Sunday a bottle of whiskey jealously kept since 1954 and that they will only be able to savor if the Guadalajara team becomes champion. (D)
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