Tigres denied León a shock win on Saturday as Ricardo “Tuca” Ferretti’s men sealed their place in the Liguilla semifinals.
After earning a 1-1 draw in the first leg, Tigres knew that a win or draw of less than two goals would be enough go through to the next round.
As expected, Tigres dominated the first minutes of the game, with Andre-Pierre Gignac growing in confidence on the attack.
In the 20th minute, the frenchman made no mistake when he latched on to a Javier Aquino corner to fire home the go-ahead goal.
But León’s response was almost immediate as home fans inside the Estadio Universitario feared the worst when Andres Mosquera leveled from a set-piece.
Yet opportunities continued to come Tigres’ way and León were fortunate not to concede a second with Gignac failing to convert a 1 v 1 situation with the goalkeeper.
In the second half, León did not initially look desperate to search for the winner, but as the clock wind down, los Esmeraldas poured forward in search of a possible goal.
With the 90th minute approaching, forwards Mauro Boselli and Alvaro Ramos peeled away from their markers in search of a good cross. But at the final whistle, Tigres’ defensive resolve proved too much for Leon and their attackers.
Tigres have now knocked León out twice in recent seasons and will wait to see who they face next in the semifinals.