Club America survived the dismissal of Rubens Sambueza for most of the second half to end goalless with Chivas in the first leg of their Clasico Nacional quarterfinal tie.
Sambueza could have few complaints as he had earlier escaped red for what looked like a second bookable offense. Chivas forward Angel Zaldivar was also sent off with eight minutes to go in the match as both sides finished with 10 men each.
From the start, it was Las Aguilas who looked the most threatening. Ignacio Ambriz's side have forged a reputation of being a counter-attacking team, and America always had bodies back to stop Chivas' attacks.
America's countering was proving dangerous, and Chivas goalkeeper Rodolfo Cota had to be at his best, denying Las Aguilas the opener on several occasions.
In the second half, Chivas began to exert their dominance on the ball, but the visitors continued to look dangerous on the counter.
After America went down to ten men, Chivas sent on Javier Eduardo "La Chofis" Lopez in a bid to find the winner, but it was Las Aguilas, again, who came closest to grabbing the breakthrough with Andres Andrade forcing Cota to another good save.
The most controversial moment of the match came moments later. Chivas wanted a penalty when William da Silva looked to have brought down Jesus "Chapo" Sanchez inside the box, but to the frustration of the home fans, the referee waved play on.
At the end, Zaldivar was sent off for a tackle on America defender Paul Aguilar as both sides settled for the goalless draw.
The rivalry will be renewed on Sunday when these sides meet at the Estadio Azteca where Chivas need to score a goal to have any chance of progressing to the semifinals.