Club America vs. Chivas Post-Match Synopsis and Analysis

It was a night to remember in the heart of Mexico City at the Estadio Azteca. Club America hosted their arch rivals, Chivas de Guadalajara, in an exciting bout between the two most popular clubs in North American Football. It was a night consisting of a continuous down pour of rain, and goals from Club America. All the details in this post match synopsis and analysis.

The Lineup for Club America looked extremely offensive from the onset, even with their star striker Henry Martin missing from the starting eleven.

Luis Malagon was in goal. Keven Alvarez and Luis Fuentes played at right/left back. Ramon Juarez and Igor Lichnovsky made up the heart of America’s defense as the starting center backs.

Jonathan Dos Santos and Alvaro Fidalgo paired up as the two central midfielders. Diego Valdes played in the hole as the center attacking midfielder. Bryan Rodriguez played at left wing and Leo Suarez played at right wing, while Julian Quinones played at center forward.

The Lineup for Chivas de Guadalajara looked like a pragmatic bunch with some notable absentees like "El Pocho" Guzman, who is out injured. Miguel Jimenez started in between the posts. Cristian Calderon started at left back, and Jesus Sanchez started at right back.

Jesus Orozco linked up with Antonio Briseño to make the center back pairing. Fernando Gonzalez played as the center defensive midfielder, while Erik Gutierrez and Fernando Beltran played as the two central midfielders. Roberto Alvarado started at left wing, while Alexis Vega started at right wing. Ricardo Marin started in at the striker role.

Kick Off!

1st minute Chivas start the game by immediately losing the ball and committing a foul. This moment is followed up by a series of fouls by both sides in what looks to be a scrappy start between two historic rivals. The rain is relentless in the Estadio Azteca.

4th minute. Chivas right back Jesus “El Chapito” Sanchez passes to teammate Alexis Vega, but the ball goes out of play for Chivas’ first corner of the night. It amounts to nothing, a wasted opportunity for the Guadalajara outfit.

9th minute. Miguel “El Wacho” Jimenez comes up with a save from America’s Leo Suarez. America starting to grow into the match.

15th minute. America break into a counter. Diego Valdez passes the ball to Quinones, who quickly lays it off to the Uruguayan, Bryan Rodriguez. Rodriguez cuts in from the left into the center of the Chivas box, where he jukes four Chivas players and shoots a ball that deflects into goal off of Chivas defender “El Chiquete” Orozco, as goalkeeper Jimenez was a helpless witness. Goal for Club America! 1:0

25h minute, America with another counter attack. The ball falls to Bryan Rodriguez, the Uruguayan crosses it to no one, opportunity wasted for Club America.

32nd minute, America’s Bryan Rodriguez displays his dangerous attacking skills with two feints on Chapito Sanchez. He crosses it to Leo Suarez, who shoots at goal but has his shot blocked.

37th minute, Leo Suarez receives the ball at the halfway line, then quickly lays it off for Diego Valdez, who calmy makes his way towards the outside of the Chivas box. Valdez launches a graceful ball, curling it into the bottom right corner of the goal. Goal for Club America! 2:0.

40th minute. Piojo Alvarado cuts in from the right, near America’s box, where he lets out a weak shot that is easily taken care of by America keeper Luis Malagon. Chivas look to get back into the game by pushing numbers forward and moving the ball into the opponent’s half, while America lies in wait, ready to strike on the counter.

45th minute +2. Foul called in favor of Chivas. Fidalgo takes down Fernandez. Piojo Alvarado shoots directly at goal but skies it. Soon after the ref whistles the end of the first half.

Half time score: America 2:0 Chivas

46th minute, second half is off. Chivas start the second half by making two substitutions. Tibo Sepulveda, a central defender, comes on for attacking playmaker Alexis Vega, while Alan Mozo comes on for Jesus Sanchez in the right back position. The substitutions change the Chivas formation, giving them three defenders at the back.

48th minute. Erik Gutierrez shoots at goal, but it is blocked by America midfielder Jonathan Dos Santos. The ball falls to Chivas Center Forward Marin, who puts it into the back of the net. The play is immediately pulled back for offsides, and the video replay confirms the obvious call.

50th minute. Chivas midfielder “Nene” Beltran crosses the ball to left back Calderon, who strikes it nowhere near the goal. Opportunity wasted for Chivas.

56th minute Nene Beltran with a long distance shot that is off target, ball for America.

57th minute, Leo Suarez fouls Chivas player Alvarado by pulling on his shirt, Suarez is sanctioned with a yellow card.

59th minute, Piojo Alvarado passes the ball towards the America box. The ball is headed away but falls near Nene Beltran, who lobs it near goal. Malagon comes out to punch the ball away, but he does so towards the feet of Chivas center back Antonio Briseño. The defender's shot is way off target. Another wasted opportunity for Chivas to get back into the game.

64th minute, America wins a corner and Leo Suarez whips it in. The ball goes over everyone but America center back Igor Lichnovsky, who gets a hold of it and makes a timely pass to Diego Valdez. Valdez puts the ball away with a beautiful shot into the top right corner of the goal. Goal for America! 3:0.

68th minute. Lichnovsky and Briseño both receive yellow cards for pushing one another.

70th minute. Nene Beltran places a beautiful pass to Piojo Alvarado, who aims his shot towards the bottom right corner of the America goal. Malagon gets to it in time with a timely diving save for Club America.

75th minute. Substitutions for America. Alex Zendejas comes on for Leo Suarez and Salvador Reyes comes on for the Chilean star of the night, Diego Valdez. With these substitutions, Jardine shifts to a different formation to counter the opposition.

77th minute. Substitutions for Chivas. Ricardo Marin comes off for Ronaldo Cisneros.

80th minute. America begin a counter with Bryan Rodriguez bolting down his left side, where he passes to Reyes, who then crosses the ball to Alex Zendejas to slot into an empty net. Goal for America! 4:0.

82nd minute. Substitutions for Chivas. Yael Padilla comes on for Fernando Gonzalez and Cristian Calderon is replaced by Jesus Brigido.

84th minute. Substitutions for Club America. Jonathan Rodriguez comes on for Julian Quinones, Juarez is replaced by Erick Lara and Renato Sanchez comes on for Jonathan Dos Santos.

86th minute. Chivas Striker Ronaldo Cisneros combines with Padilla. Padilla then loses his marker but misplaces the final pass. Another wasted chance for the Jalisco side.

88th minute. America spring into another counter attack. Bryan Rodriguez finds Jonathan “Cabecita” Rodriguez. Cabecita gets past Chivas goalkeeper Jimenez, but it looks like the Chivas player makes contact with the America forward. Cabecita is thrown off balance but gets off a shot that is blocked by Chivas central defender Orozco, before falling. The referee calls a penalty in favor of America! In the end, the ref is not sure about his original call and decides to have a look at the VAR, he then goes back on his decision and no penalty is given.

90th minute +2. Erik Gutierrez takes a strike at goal from long range that goes wide. Shortly after this moment, the ref calls the game. The game ends with the score of America 4:0 Chivas.

Post-match Analysis for Chivas:

It was a terrible showing for Chivas, as they were thoroughly beaten by an America that was better in every aspect that mattered. Chivas coach Vajko Paunovic got his tactics wrong. His most glaring mistake was starting veteran right back Chapito Sanchez. While a good player in his day, as well as a loyal veteran to Chivas, Chapito does not have the legs to go up against the likes of Bryan Rodriguez, the speedy winger from Uruguay. From the onset, it was apparent that Sanchez was out of depth as he lost duel after duel. The halftime substitution of Sanchez could not have come sooner, as the Chivas’ right side was seriously compromised with Sanchez on the field.

Another mistake from Paunovic was starting Alexis Vega, who is clearly still carrying an injury. Slow and with a heavy touch, Vega contributed little to the Chivas Attack. On the other hand, Vega’s attacking counterpart, Roberto Alvarado was one of the few bright spots in today’s abysmal showing from the Rojiblancos.

Paunovic tried to stop America’s devastating counter attacks by adding another center back, but the act was too little too late. They were already down two goals by the time Paunovic made the changes. Chivas was forced to push numbers forward to try and get a goal, leaving them very vulnerable at the back.

Erick Gutierrez looks like a downgrade from El Pocho Guzman, who’s speed and creativity were sorely missed tonight. Vega, Chapito Sanchez, and Gutierrez all lack the physicality to do what Chivas did best last season, the team press. The success that Chivas found last year was heralded by their ability to press opponents in the opposition’s half. This season, and that includes this game against America, Chivas have not been able to press like they used to. Without their ability to press effectively, Chivas are an average and sometimes even a below average side.

Post-match Analysis for America:

Andre Jardine’s team looked like it could do no wrong out there on the pitch. America’s starting eleven was very offensive, especially with the midfield pairing of Jonathan Dos Santos and Alvaro Fidalgo, who both excel with the ball at their feet and not so much on the defensive aspect of things, but they were more than enough to shut down the Chivas attack, as well as help create opportunities for their teammates.

America’s tactics were spot on against their rivals. They controlled possession at times, and ceded it when they wanted, preferring to wait for the counter that would leave their attackers one on one with the Chivas defenders. America’s attacking prowess was on full display as they broke into counter attacks that led to three of the four goals. The superiority of the America roster was on full display with substitutions like that of Cabecita Rodriguez and Alejandro Zendejas. They brought a spark in the attack that made sure their rival would not be able to recover from.

Everything went off without a hitch for the Mexico City side, as Chivas never truly threatened them, while on the other hand America created a plethora of opportunities to score. It could have easily been five or six goals to zero, but Chivas came through with some clutch saves to prevent that.

It was a Super Clasico to remember as Club America obliterated their rivals in convincing fashion. They seem to be really coming together in what might be an exciting run at the title, but it is still too early to tell. Congrats to Jardine and his men.