Santos Laguna was no match for Club América who won 3-0 Saturday night. The Aguilas controlled the game all night long and if it wasn’t for goalkeeper Carlos Acevedo the game would’ve been a lot worse.
The Aguilas go into the international break in second place while Santos once again makes a great point as to why promotion/relegation is needed.
Santos got the first chance in the game in the first minute when Kevin Palacios took a shot from outside the box that Luis Angel Malagon was able to control. A few minutes later América got their chance thanks to Allan Saint-Maximin as he made his way up the left flank where he took a shot at goal but it went wide of the far post. Minutes later the home side had another chance when Alejandro Zendejas took a shot from outside the box but it went straight to the hands of Carlos Acevedo. Saint-Maximin and Zendejas were on either side of the flank creating chances that found themselves at the hands of Acevedo. In the 28th minute Erick ‘Chiquito’ Sanchez had his first shot at the game when he took a long-range shot from outside the box but Acevedo collected it. The next minute Santos made their way into the Aguilas’ box as Jesus Ocejo headed the ball in front of him but Malagon punched it out. Minutes later América was awarded a corner kick that Alexis Gutierrez sent to the head of Ramon Juárez. The player sent the ball towards the net but Acevedo was able to punch it out. Then in the 30th minute André Jardine was forced to make a substitution when Saint-Maximin was seen limping. This injury went back to the 12th minute when he was fouled by Haret Ortega and the Santos player was given a yellow card for it. He wasn’t the same after that foul which forced his substitution almost 20 minutes later. Uruguayan Brian Rodriguez came on for the Frenchman. Then a few minutes later Jardine was forced to make another sub as Raul Zuñiga went to the ground holding his left leg and was replaced by Rodrigo ‘Bufalo’ Aguirre. Even though the Aguilas went down two players in the span of minutes, that did not interrupt them as they found the back of the net minutes later.
The Aguilas were awarded a free-kick on the right side of the field in front of the box. Alejandro Zendejas stepped up to take the kick. He sent the ball into the box where Jonathan Perez Sanchez deflected the ball straight to Aguirre who pushed the ball into the back of the net to open the score.
The Aguilas continued to keep control of the ball looking for a second goal before the half ended. That goal came in stoppage time right before the half, or at least they thought they did. América made their way into the box where Aguirre headed the ball into the back of the net for a second goal. Santos players were asking for an offside position and it looked like their demand was taken into consideration when the referee was called to the monitor. However, it wasn’t because of a possible offside position, but for a possible foul leading up to the goal. The monitor showed that leading up to the goal Ramon Juárez may have committed a foul against Oceja. After some minutes at the monitor the referee walked away and made his decision to call back the goal for a foul by Juárez. This was not what the Aguilas wanted going into the half but this was what Santos needed if they wanted to make their way back into the game in the second half.
Santos Laguna started off the second half with two changes as head coach Francisco subbed off Haret Ortega and Cristian Dájome for Edson Gutierrez and Diego Medina. The team was only down by one goal and were going to need to play perfectly for the remaining 45 minutes if they wanted to draw the game. While Santos was the one that should have come out swinging it was América who did. In the 50th minute Alejandro Zendejas made his way up the right side of the field when he received a long pass from the midfield. He wasn’t able to find a chance to take a shot himself so he sent the ball to the opposite side where Brian Rodriguez was open. Rodriguez sent the ball towards goal but it was deflected out for a corner. Zendejas was the one who took the corner but his ball was sent out for another corner. His second corner was also deflected out for a second corner that ended in a missed chance by Alexis Gutierrez whose shot went to the side of the net. A few minutes later Zendejas had another chance at goal as he took a shot from distance that went just above the crossbar. Then in the 61st minute it looked like they had doubled their lead thanks to a goal from Gutierrez but it was called back due to offside. The frustration from that call only lasted one minute after the Aguilas finally got their second goal.
The Aguilas made their way inside the box where Gutierrez had the ball. He wasn’t able to find an angle to shoot it himself so he sent the ball to his left where Rodriguez was open and the Uruguayan sent it past the stretched out arms of Carlos Acevedo.
Right after the goal Santos made two more changes as Kevin Palacios and Fran Villalba were subbed off for Ramiro Sordo and Jordan Carrillo. Carrillo was once a promising youngster with a big career as he made his way to Europe but he made his way back to Mexico after only a year. The offense was going to need a giant spark and hopefully Carrillo could provide just that. In the 66th minute Acevedo made incredible back-to-back saves and the Santos defense was lucky that no azulcrema jerseys went for the rebound because it could have easily been another goal. While the goal did not come in that moment thanks to the Santos goalkeeper, it arrived a few minutes later in the 71st minute.
Alan Cervantes found himself with the ball at his feet outside of the box and he took the shot. There was nothing that Acevedo could do as the Aguilas put the nail in the coffin. This goal was preventable from the defense as none of them went up to stop Cervantes. They gave him a lot of time to readjust himself to take the shot and it wasn’t until the last moment when defender Abella went up to the player but by then it was too late.
After the third goal Francisco made one final change as he took off Jesus Ocejo for Bruno Barticciotto. Minutes later Santos had a chance as they made their way up the right flank but the Aguilas defense was able to dispossess the offense without any major trouble. Minutes later, Barticciotto had a big chance to score a goal. He made his way up the right side of the field and into the box where he sent the ball to the far post past the outstretched arms of Malagon but the ball went just past the post. He was the only Santos player who had made a big difference up top which is why it’s confusing why Francisco has benched Barticciotto when it’s evident the Chilean should be starting. In the 83rd minute the Aguilas attempted to add to their lead when Isaias Violante took a shot from the edge of the box that Acevedo saved and had an immediate reaction to contain the ball. The goalkeeper looked upset with his team after this goal and that was understandable as HE was the reason the scoreline wasn’t worse as it could’ve been.
Even in the late 80th minute the Aguilas continued to look for another goal. They were not content with only three goals. Victor Davila attempted his own goal in stoppage time but once again Acevedo showed up and made a save at the line before the referee blew his whistle to indicate the end of the game.
