Walter Ayovi and Abraham Carreno scored second-half goals as reigning champion Monterrey beat 10-man America 2-1 at home Saturday in the 11th round of the Mexican Clausura championship.
Ayovi opened the scoring in the 48th minute and Carreno finished Ricardo Osorio's cross in the 70th to establish a two-goal lead. Angel Reyna hit a 90th-minute penalty for America.
The win moved Monterrey to 19 points in second place in Group 1.
Also Saturday, Cruz Azul beat Toluca 1-0, with Emanuel Villa getting the goal in the 68th. Cruz Azul now has 21 points in second place in Group 3.
In later matches, Guadalajara beat Queretaro 2-0, Morelia won 1-0 at Santos Laguna, San Luis and Atlas fought out a 1-1 draw, while Atlante crushed Chiapas 5-1.
At Monterrey's Tecnologico stadium, America faced Monterrey with 10 men for more than 70 minutes after Andres Olivera was sent off in the 18th.
Despite the extra man, Monterrey had to wait until after the break to take the lead, with Ecuadorean midfielder Ayovi firing an angled low drive from 30 yards (meters) that flew in at the far post.
Carreno added the second with a back-post header after Osorio beat his marker and sent over a cross from the right.
Reyna's penalty in the final minute of regular time cut the deficit, but it was too late for America to rally.
The win pushed Monterrey to within a point of cross-city rival and group leader UANL Tigres, which drew 0-0 at Estudiantes on Friday.
America remained on 16 points and dropped to second in Group 2, a point ahead of Toluca.
The top two in each of the three groups of six teams progress to the playoffs to decide the champion.
Toluca had two men sent off and Cruz Azul also lost a player as the first half ended with a flurry in the Estadio Azul. Toluca's Oswaldo Gonzalez received a second yellow in the 44th to start the procession toward the changing rooms, and Toluca goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera and Cruz Azul's Horacio Cervantes were both shown straight reds shortly after for a clash that looked innocuous in television replays.
Cruz Azul adapted better to the adjustment in numbers and Villa scored with a predatory close-range finish after Cesar Villaluz's header from Christian Gimenez' cross was saved to seal the points.
Cruz Azul, which has not lost since the sixth round of fixtures, moved to 21 points after its second successive win, behind UNAM Pumas in Group 3 by three points.
Pumas, which hosts Pachuca on Sunday, leads the general standings.
Necaxa travels to Puebla in the other match Sunday.
In Guadalajara, rising star Erick Torres hit two goals for Chivas for his fifth goal 10 matches in his breakthrough season.
The 18-year-old opened the scoring when he chested the ball down Omar Arellano's pass for a left-footed finish in the 6th minute and celebrated with his trademark robot dance by the corner flag.
Torres added a second with a header in the 72nd minute to seal the win and leave Queretaro stuck on 11 points in Group 3 and facing a battle to avoid relegation.
In the northeastern city of Torreon, Rafael Marquez Lugo scored in the 88th minute to give Morelia a win against 10-man Santos.
Santos, which had Rodolfo Salinas sent off in the 67th minute, has now lost five league matches in a row and has stagnated on 10 points in Group 1.
Morelia has 21 points and is second in Group 3.
At Cancun, Christian Bermudez and Francisco Fonseca scored two goals as Atlante dismantled Chiapas 5-1. Bermudez scored in the 20th and 50th minutes, while Fonseca struck in the 35th and 79th to notch his second double in consecutive games.
Mario Ortiz also got on the scoresheet for Atlante with a goal on the half-hour mark.
Chiapas was reduced to 10 men with the expulsion of Jorge Hernandez just before half time. Christian Valdez scored the consolation goal in stoppage time.
Elsewhere, Wilmer Aguirre finished a Michael Arroyo pass to give San Luis a 1-0 lead against Atlas in the 76th minute, but Michael Ortega struck from the edge of the box to level in the 89th.
Alfredo Moreno was sent off in the 50th for Atlas and San Luis also finsihed with 10 men after a late red card for Jesus Rodriguez.
The point helped San Luis to 16 points and top spot in Group 2, thanks to the earlier defeats for America and Toluca. Atlas has 15 points in the same section.
