Fernando Ortíz identifies América’s weak points
The Azulcrema coach acknowledged that his team has been struggling to close games and they must improve defensively.
Things appear to have started looking up for América in the Clausura 2023 with three consecutive wins the team is now back in the top part of the table, in third on 16 points. The Eagles have shown their power in attack with Henry Martín firing on all cylinders, however, the same cannot be said for the defence - poor defending has meant the team tends to suffer in the final part of matches. Coach Fernando Ortíz recognized that defensive shortcomings is the side’s Achilles Heel at the moment.
During his press conference, after the Week 8 win against Tijuana, Tano had no problem in admitting that his team doesn’t how to kill games off - an issue which almost cost them again on Sunday when they suffered during the final minutes of the match.
“We always go forward, looking to attack. We take risks and that produces situations where we are under threat,” Ortíz said. “I like my teams to go forward but sometimes it means that the rival will have possibilities on the break. Maybe it’s just hard for us to put our games to bed, regardless of whether we are home or away. There is no problem admitting it, it’s an area we have to work on, especially when we had an extra man, you have to know when to kill the match off”.
Ortíz added that the defence continues to fall short and so the back four will need to tighten up ahead of a tough run of upcoming games where América will face Pachuca, Tigres and Chivas.
“I am going to differentiate between the defence and the forwards, they all defend and attack. Defensively we are not as solid as we would like, but offensively we are. The team defends and attacks, there is no difference in that sense. We are going to give merit to the rival, they also play and create chances to score. We must work so that they don’t punish us at key moments again, but our opponents also play,” he sentenced.
Tano reaches 25 victories with América in Liga MX
The Argentinian coach is close to completing one year at the Azteca and against Xolos he reached 25 Liga MX victories as América coach. Overall, Tano has led the Águilas in 42 league games where, in addition to the number of wins, he has also recorded 11 draws and six defeats.