Cruz Azul Defeats Santos Laguna in 2021 Liga MX Finals, Ends Their 24-Year Championship Drought
Players of Cruz Azul celebrate at the end of the Final second leg match between Cruz Azul and Santos Laguna as part of Torneo Guard1anes 2021 Liga MX at Azteca Stadium on May 30, 2021 in Mexico City, Mexico. Hector Vivas/Getty Images

Cruz Azul has snatched back the crown after beating the Santos Laguna in the 2021 Liga MX Guard1anes Final match, ending their 24 years of championship drought.

According to an AS report, the team had managed to get the championship title under Juan Reynoso, who was the first one to win a title for Cruz Azul as both player and coach.

Santos Laguna started to gain more and more possession as the game progressed. The team had also won some corner kicks.

However, Cruz Azul threw their opponent team's chances, FMF State of Mind reported. Cruz Azul had a look at the goal in the 43rd minute when Luis Romo had a chance at the goal. But Carlos Acevedo tore apart the chance.

In the 50th minute, Cruz Azul was able to break, and Jonathan "Cabecita" Rodriguez had knocked the ball past Acevedo to regain the lead for their team.

The game had five minutes of added time, but Santos Laguna could not score another goal. A fight had also broken out with players and staff throwing punches. Two yellow cards were handed out.

Cruz Azul's players were Jesús Corona, Roberto Alvarado (Yoshimar Yotún, 45'), Pablo Aguilar, Julio Domínguez, Juan Escobar; and Rafael Baca.

Other players for the Cruz Azul were Orbelín Pineda (Santiago Giménez, 45'), Guillermo Fernández (Adrián Aldrete, 61'), Ignacio Rivero (Walter Montoya, 82'), Luis Romo, and Jonathan Rodríguez (José Martínez, 86').

For Santos Laguna's team, Carlos Acevedo, Omar Campos, Matheus Dória, Carlos Orrantia, Félix Torres, Alan Cervantes, Fernando Gorriarán (Roni Prieto, 55'), and Ayrton Preciado (Andrés Ibargüen, 68') played.

Diego Valdés, Juan Ferney Otero (Jesús Ocejo, 77'); and Eduardo Aguirre (Santiago Muñoz, 68') were also among the Santos Laguna players.

Jonathan Rodriguez and Diego Valdes were the scorers for Cruz Azul and Santos Laguna, respectively.

Matheus Doria had received a yellow card penalty for Cruz Azul, while Santos Laguna earned its yellow card with Santiago Gimenez.

2021 Liga MX Finals

Game experts had forecasted that Cruz Azul has the edge due to the homecourt pressure of breaking the 24 years of championship drought.

This marks Cruz Azul's eighth appearance in the finals after it last won its championship title in 1997, CBS Sports reported. Cruz Azul had a 15-game unbeaten run in the Clausura after losing its first two games.

Rodriguez had been the league's top scorer over the past year with 21 goals in 31 matches. He also had a goal and two assists in the playoffs.

Meanwhile, experts said that Santos Laguna dominated the stat sheet in the first leg, holding the ball for 65 percent of the match.

In addition, Santos Laguna had beaten Cruz Azul 1-0 in the regular season. Valdes had scored to settle a tight match. Valdes had missed much of the season with a fractured foot. However, he has a goal and an assist in the postseason.

Meanwhile, Acevedo had 11 clean sheets, and a save percentage of 79.6 in the 34 matches over both seasons.

WATCH: Resumen | Santos vs Cruz Azul | Liga BBVA MX - Guard1anes 2021 - Gran Final IDA - From LIGA BBVA MX