Saint-Maximin scores again in América's 2-0 win over Pachuca in an empty stadium.

Behind closed doors at the Ciudad de los Deportes stadium, French striker Allan Saint-Maximin scored a goal on Saturday night in América's 2-0 victory over Pachuca in the seventh matchday of the 2025 Liga MX Apertura tournament.

Chilean Igor Lichnovsky scored the 1-0 for the Eagles with a shot from inside the area in the 21st minute.

Saint-Maximin came on as a substitute in the 60th minute and in the 71st minute he went for a ball in midfield and, with the field open, he eluded the goalkeeper who had come out to try to stop the play, advanced a few meters and with a cross from the left flank made it 2-0.

With this result, América reached 17 points and Pachuca remained with 13 points.

When Saint-Maximin was expected to play its first home game in front of American fans, the mayor's office where the stadium is located sanctioned the team with playing behind closed doors on Friday.

He accused the club's security personnel of improperly closing off a street adjacent to the building, affecting residents.

Another defeat for Milito's Chivas

Meanwhile, Guadalajara's results crisis, managed by Gabriel Milito, was rekindled this week when they lost 2-1 at home to Nicolás Larcamón's Cruz Azul at the Akron stadium.

The Cruz Azul Machine took a 1-0 lead in the 2nd minute with a left-footed shot from the corner of the box by Argentine José Paradela, sending the ball into the base of the right post.

Chivas' 1-1 draw with Guadalajara came from a right-wing corner; Diego Campillo's second header appeared in the six-yard box and scored with a header.

VAR sparked two controversies in the first half: first, for disallowing a goal by Uruguayan Gabriel Fernández for Cruz Azul in the 34th minute, and then for canceling a penalty for Guadalajara in the 39th minute.

Before the break, in the 45th minute, La Máquina made a triangulation in the last quarter of the field and Argentine Carlos Rotondi scored the 2-1 with his left boot, shooting from outside the area into the bottom left corner.

After suffering its fourth defeat of the tournament, Guadalajara dropped to four points, with one game remaining against Tigres. Cruz Azul reached 17 points with its fifth consecutive win.

"I think we were superior and deserved more in the first half," said Argentine Milito at a press conference.

"The players made an extraordinary effort to tie the game. (...) The fans don't deserve to be going through this," he concluded.

For his part, Cruz Azul coach Nicolás Larcamón, also from Argentina, acknowledged the level of difficulty he encountered in Guadalajara.

"Today we faced the best version of Chivas since I've been in Mexico (...) I fully understand the demands placed on a team like this and the dissatisfaction with the results," he added.

James starts in León's rout

At the Nou Camp stadium, León thrashed Querétaro 3-0 with a double from Panamanian striker Ismael Díaz de León.

Fernando Beltrán put La Fiera ahead 1-0 in the 45+1 minute with a left-footed shot from outside the area.

In the 55th minute, also from mid-range, Díaz de León made it 2-0, and in the 74th minute he appeared in the area to convert a ball blocked by goalkeeper José Hernández into 3-0.

Colombian star James Rodríguez started the match for León and came off the bench in the 72nd minute.

With this result, León reached 10 points and Querétaro remained with four points.

At Corona Stadium, Tigres defeated Santos 1-0 on the road. Argentine Ángel Correa scored the only goal of the match with a shot from inside the box in the 55th minute.

Thus, the Tigers reached 13 points and Santos remained with six units.

Results of the day:

-Friday:

Juarez-Mazatlan 1-0

Atlético San Luis-Toluca 1-3

Puebla-Monterrey 2-4

-Saturday:

León-Querétaro 3-0

Santos-Tigres 1-0

Guadalajara-Cruz Azul 1-2

America-Pachuca 2-0

- Sunday (to be played) :

Pumas-Atlas

Tijuana-Necaxa