América held 1-1 by Tijuana at the Azteca as Toño Rodríguez stars and Gilberto Mora returns

Club América missed a chance to stretch its lead atop Liga MX on Wednesday night, settling for a 1-1 draw with Xolos de Tijuana in a rescheduled Matchday 7 game of the Apertura 2026 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, now branded Estadio Banorte.

Tijuana goalkeeper Antonio “Toño” Rodríguez was the difference. Claro Sports credited him with seven saves as América pushed for a winner, and the night also marked the return of Mexico teenager Gilberto Mora after more than a month out.

América vs. Tijuana: How did the goals happen?

12th minute, Tijuana 1-0: Brazilian forward Elías Manoel put the visitors ahead with a left-footed shot from outside the box that went in near the left post, beating Rodolfo Cota, who started in goal for América instead of Luis Malagón, per Claro Sports. El Imparcial reported the chance came from a defensive mistake by Dagoberto Espinoza.

19th minute, 1-1: América answered quickly. Isaías Violante set up Miguel Borja, who finished with an angled shot after a corner-kick sequence. El Imparcial said it was Borja’s sixth goal of the tournament.

Why couldn’t América win?

América created the better chances, but Rodríguez kept stopping them. According to Claro Sports, he denied an Alexis Gutiérrez header in the fourth minute and a hard Alan Cervantes shot in the 18th, then turned away efforts from Violante, Edwin Cerrillo and Gutiérrez before halftime.

Coach Guillermo Almada sent on Brian Rodríguez, Óscar Perea and Carlos Álvarez in the second half. Brian Rodríguez shot just wide around the 70th minute, and the Tijuana keeper made his last key save on him in the 80th, Claro Sports reported. Tijuana’s Jesús Gómez was sent off in stoppage time, according to El Universal, but the score held.

El Universal reported the home crowd booed América at the final whistle and noted the club has now gone five home games without a win.

Is Gilberto Mora back?

Yes. The 18-year-old midfielder came on in the 57th minute for Ángel Zapata, his first appearance for Tijuana since Sept. 20, Claro Sports reported. He had missed five straight league games with a physical problem after playing for Mexico’s national team on Sept. 26 against Colombia, a 1-1 draw in which he scored his first senior international goal. His best chance Wednesday came in the 77th minute, a left-footed shot that went just wide.

What does the result mean for the Liga MX table?

América moved to 28 points and stays in first place, but its cushion is only two points over Cruz Azul and Chivas, both on 26, with three matchdays left in the regular season, El Imparcial reported. Tijuana reached 21 points, seventh in the table per Claro Sports, and remains in the race for a playoff spot.

The game was originally set for Sept. 5 but was postponed because of América’s run in the 2026 Leagues Cup, according to Claro Sports.

How did the teams come into the game?

América entered as the leader with 27 points but was coming off a 2-1 loss to Pachuca, Claro Sports reported. Tijuana arrived eighth with 20 points after snapping a six-game winless run with a 4-1 rout of Santos Laguna. América had gone five straight meetings without losing to Tijuana before Wednesday, though four of those ended level, including a 0-0 draw on Jan. 9, 2026.

Who do América and Tijuana play next?

• América: hosts Toluca, then closes the regular season against Pumas and Tigres.
• Tijuana: visits Monterrey on Saturday, Oct. 31, then faces Necaxa and Atlante.

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