America falls at home but is in the final
After inflicting a scandalous 0-5 in the first game of the semifinals, Club America finished the job at the Azteca stadium, but not precisely in style. Reminiscent of the last tournament upset that almost left them out in the quarter finals, America lost against a feisty San Luis that showed a whole different shape at Mexico City than at home.
Kevin Alvarez was America’s player who posed the greatest danger to San Luis, with a couple of close attempts that were ultimately unfruitful.
From early on, it was clear that Malagon would become the night’s hero for America. At the 9’ he stopped the first important ball of the match. It was also evident that San Luis came resolved to restore some of the lost prestige after Wednesday’s thrashing, taking advantage of America’s relaxed demeanour. A close header by Ricardo Chavez, came in at the 16’ and just six minutes later Malagon again pulled an impressive save after yet another header, this time by Jordan Silva.
Second Half
Very quickly into the second half, Dieter Villalpando took the ball in the midfield and advanced many meters before serving to Juan Sanabria on the left. Sanabria assisted to Angel Saldivar who came cutting through the middle of the box and with and gave the proverbial pass to the net to open the score for the visitor.
San Luis kept the pressure and ten minutes after their first goal they played the ball beautifully in the midfield until Javier Guemez put a ball through that found Vitinho inside the Box, but once again, Malagon saved his team.
America tried but fell short in their meagre attempts. The most eager player for them was ‘Cabecita’ Rodriguez, who even had a penalty committed on, but it wasn’t called by the referee.
Just a few minutes before the end of the regular time, Angel Saldivar once again pierced America’s goal with a header that came after a corner kick, and with that, he made the overall score of the semifinals a bit more bearable for his team.
America will surely show a different form for the final, coach Andre Jardine knows that despite the sourness this game caused the team’s fans, they are better off keeping their best for the most decisive games, as America returns to a final for the first time since the Apertura 2019.
