America Begin Tournament with Hard-Fought Win
The Liga MX Clausura 2021 tournament began this week, with Saturday being America’s debut. They faced off against Atletico San Luis at home in the Estadio Azteca. Debuting for Las Aguilas was also their new, flashy head coach, Santiago Solari. All eyes would be on the ex-Real Madrid coach to see how he would fair in his first Liga MX game.
Unfortunately, that official debut would have to wait. Due to legal issues revolving around Solari’s work visa, he was not able to be on the sidelines for today’s game. While he was present in the stadium, the Argentine was forced to watch on from the owner’s box. Meanwhile, down on the field his men faced off against Atleti. The game itself was rather even, with America creating more opportunities in that first half. It was one of America’s new signings, Mauro Lainez, brother of Diego Lainez, that would open up the scoring. Lainez himself had done a well job sending in crosses although his teammates hadn’t been able to connect. In the 26th minute he took matters into his own hands, firing off a powerful shot from outside the box for the 1-0. ‘Memo’ Ochoa did his part as well, not just in the first half but throughout the game as well. He was called upon many times during the match and was a key factor in his teams win. It wasn’t until the 79th minute that San Luis was able to get past Memo thanks to a header from Nicolas Ibañez. Still, America kept on the pressure and just ten minutes later, just as it seemed like the tie was imminent, Sebastian Cordova came by to resolve the game for Las Aguilas. The youngster showed why he’s looked at as one of the future stars for Mexico, with a beautiful chip over Axel Werner to give America the final 2-1. With pressure on him, Cordova was able to calmly finish with the chip.
With this, America takes 3 points in the league opener, leaving Atleti with zero. Las Aguila’s will travel to Nuevo Leon to face off against another team with a flashy, new head coach. For this match against Javier Aguirre and Monterrey, America will hope to have Santiago Solari on the bench for his official debut. Atletico San Luis for their part will travel to Aguascalientes to face off against Necaxa.
