Tonight was supposed to be a night of celebration in honor of Club América legend Guillermo ‘Memo’ Ochoa. Instead the Aguilas suffered their second defeat of the season at the hands of Pachuca who were the better team. Now the Aguilas will have to regroup quickly for a weekday game against Tijuana meanwhile Pachuca get a full week of rest when they face Tigres on Saturday.
América attempted to get things going quickly as they had their first chance of the night within the first minute of the game.
Kevin Alvarez attempted a shot at goal on the right side but his shot went wide. A few minutes later they got another chance at goal as Oscar Perea took his shot but it also went wide. Pachuca did not receive their first shot of the game until the seventh minute when Salomon Rondon made his way into the box but he fouled Santiago Ramos on the way and his chance ended very quickly. Two minutes later the visitors got their second chance as Oussama Idrissi earned a corner for his team but that went nowhere after multiple attempts to get past the América defense. The visitors finally succeeded in the 12th minute after a mistake in the home teams’ defense. Erick ‘Chiquito’ Sanchez made his way back to help defend but he mistakenly passed the ball to his opponents as Alan Bautista received the ball and sent it towards goal and past the outstretched arms of Luis Angel Malagon.
The Aguilas attempted to respond immediately but any chance they had in the box they were immediately surrounded by white jerseys. Then it seemed as if the night was going to go from bad to worse for the Aguilas after Pachuca was awarded a penalty after Malagon hit a Tuzos player in the head. Right away the referee was called to VAR to take a closer look at the play. The replay showed multiple things at once: Malagon clashing with a white jersey, Santiago Bueno pulling a white jersey and Carlos Alvarez covering his mouth while talking with an opponent. Let’s not forget that in Liga MX that movement is illegal and punished with a red card. When the referee was finished at the monitor, he announced that there was no penalty and to move on. Surprisingly, the referee did not eject Alvarez even though it was clear he covered his mouth while speaking to a rival. América was saved. The rest of the half went by quickly with Pachuca gaining more confidence attempting to double their lead while the Aguilas were just waiting for the end of the half.
The second half started quickly as América was able to level the game just 30 seconds into the second half. Brian Rodriguez started the play on the left side as he then passed the ball to Sanchez who crossed it to the other side of the box where Henry Martin was there to hit the ball into the back of the net with his chest. Sergio Barreto was on that side but he was too focused on the ball and he was unaware of Martin behind him which allowed the striker to score his eighth goal of the season.
This goal helped the Aguilas gain confidence and it showed as they were making threatening attacks in Pachuca’s box that either the defense or the goalkeeper Carlos Moreno saved. It wasn’t until the 68th minute that the visitors made their first substitution of the night. Rodolfo Pizarro came off for Mauricio Isais and it was evident that Pizarro was upset with his substitution. However, this change made sense as Pizarro had not had the best night and Benjamin Mora was doing what was best for the team as he was looking for the breakaway goal. That goal came just six minutes later thanks to the linkup between Rondon and Idrissi. Rondon made his way to the top of the box as he drew multiple yellow jerseys towards him which allowed Idrissi to come up unmarked and shoot the ball towards goal and into the back of the net to retake the lead.
After this goal América attempted to draw the game but they had a difficult time doing so as they were swarmed with white jerseys when they made their way inside the box. The home side was visibly frustrated as they tried and tried again to score a goal but they were just not on target in front of goal. It seemed as if their weekday match against Atlas tired them out because the shots they missed were shots they would usually make in any other game. In the 90th minute Miguel Borja had a golden opportunity in front of goal as he was unmarked in front of an open net but he was unable to get his foot on the ball and into the net. Then in the final minute of stoppage time they had another golden opportunity when Rodriguez was fouled right outside of the box. Rodriguez himself stepped up to take the free-kick as it was his specialty. The player took the shot directly at goal but Moreno punched the ball out for a corner. Even with one final chance the Aguilas were unable to do any damage and the game ended immediately after their corner was taken as they suffered just their loss of the season.
So far this season América does not have the best record at home since the Estadio Azteca turned into the Estadio Bonarte. So far they have only won three games at home compared to six wins on the road. While this loss hurts, the Aguilas continue to remain at the top of the table with one game in hand and they will have to regroup quickly as they will face the Xolos on the road on Wednesday.
