Is Club America really that much better than Chivas?

Fresh off of their Liga MX Clasico win over eternal rivals Chivas, America have removed any doubt as to which team rules the country with a convincing win - we should tell you it was a friendly - in Atlanta.

Chivas started strongly but America humbled them

Though the term ‘friendly’ will be applied to the match in which the two Mexican giants met, football fans will know all too well that such a word doesn’t apply when American and Chivas meet. Indeed, playing during the FIFA international break, the sides met at the Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta and it was the ‘Coapa’ team that came out on top for a second time in recent weeks.

Interestingly, the match started out with a flurry of activity from the Guadalajara side. First, it was Angel Zaldivar who collected a loose ball, before turning and shooting at Oscar Jimenez’s net. Fortunately, the Eagle’s goalkeeper was all too conscious of the threat and managed to deflect it. Then, it was Alan Mozo’s turn just moments later, but the marauding right back saw his thunderous shot sail over the bar. If one thing was clear from the opening exchanges, it’s that Chivas had no intention of seeing a repeat of their recent loss to American. Yet, with a squad full of youth, the Eagles showed how cruel the game of football can be. On their first attack in the 9th minute, Iker Moreno found Ralph Orquín who obliged with a well-placed shot. Jimenez can do nothing. 1-0 to America.

A response cut short: American put Chivas down

Though Chivas would collect themselves and even get on the scoresheet, the writing was on the wall and they seemed to know it. Regarding the ‘Sacred Flock’s’ goal, the moment came in the 23rd minute when off of a Pavel Perez corner kick, Jimenez was caught in no-man’s-land, at which point Zaldivar happily headed home to tie the score at 1-1. Indeed, it would be Zaldivar acting as protagonist once again moments later with an attempted bicycle kick, but aside from close shave which could have resulted in an America own goal, there were no other opportunities of note for the half. Regarding the moment itself, it was Miguel Layún who was caught counting his blessings, after the ball deflected off of him and passed within inches of the post.

Club America dominated the 2nd half

The gulf in class between the sides was evident in the second half. Indeed, as the match wore on one could see Chivas’ players beginning to lose both their focus and their calm. That drop in rhythm only emboldened the Club America players who by that time were well and truly dominating the match. On cue, Miguel Layún provided the breakthrough. On a run into the box that first saw Jürgen Damm eliminated, the America player then dismissed Cristian Calderón with a right footed cut, before placing a fierce left-footed shot in at the near post. 2-1 in the 56th minute to America.

At that point, Club America were in free flow, with Layún once again going close in the 70th minute after his impressive free-kick forced a great save out of Jimenez. Unfortunately for Chivas, it wouldn’t be long before the yellow team found their third goal. Just two minutes later to be precise. Following a Brian Rodriguez run, Chivas manage to clear the ball - sort of - but only as far as Jonathan dos Santos who was waiting on the edge of the area. The former FC Barcelona man wasted no time in delivering his well-placed shot into the net. 3-1 the America and that’s all she wrote. What is now evident is that whether it’s an official match or a friendly, Chivas is unable to cope with Club America. The question now is, ‘what can they do about it?’