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Mexico City, Mexico (SportsNetwork.com) – Mauro Boselli found the net once in each half to power Leon to a 4-0 win over fourth-place Atlas and help the defending champions improve their playoff hopes.
A terrible start to the season left Leon with a big hill to climb to find its way into the top eight and a return to the Liga MX playoffs.
But the club has responded with four successive wins to move into eighth place, and it was Boselli who led the charge against Atlas.
He got Leon off to a great start inside of eight minutes as he drew a foul inside the penalty area on Federico Vilar and then picked himself up and converted the spot kick to make it 1-0.
The score remained the same into the second half, but Leon scored three times in the span of 16 minutes to put the result beyond reach.
Carlos Pena doubled the lead in the 52nd when he turned a header home from close range following a corner kick from Elias Hernandez, while Boselli scored his second goal of the game seven minutes later by pouncing on a loose ball to stab it over the line from a few yards.
Yamilson Rivera then capped the scoring in the 68th for Leon, which is one point clear of ninth-place Cruz Azul in the race for the final playoff spot.
League-leaders America were held to a 0-0 draw by rivals Guadalajara, while second-place Toluca took advantage and moved to within two points of the leaders with a 1-0 triumph at Tijuana thanks to a first-half goal from Isaac Brizuela.
Tigres moved into the top three after edging Queretaro, 1-0, thanks to a 73rd- minute goal from Juninho, Morelia got second-half goals from David Depetris and Hibert Ruiz to notch a 2-1 comeback win against Monterrey, Pachuca earned a 1-1 draw at Puebla as Ariel Nahuelpan converted a penalty kick in the 77th minute to level the match, Jaguares and Cruz Azul battled to a 0-0 draw, Leones Negros and Santos finished 1-1 and Veracruz claimed a point with a 0-0 stalemate at UNAM.