One of the best El Clasico games in recent memory took place Saturday night. The game played out very much how we expected. Chivas was able to take the ball from Club America in large parts of the first half. One of the main differences between this game for Chivas compared to their game against Tigres was the fact that they got down early. El penalty kick against Henry Martin that he was able to convert for himself put Club America up in the first minutes of the game.
From there we started to see Chivas get right to their style of play. They put pressure on Club America, and took the ball away. The big problem that we keep seeing for Chivas is that they can’t convert their possession to goals scored. Today they didn’t even have a ton of shots on goal in those moments after the first America goal. Despite the fact that it was a highly emotional game, Club America never really looked overwhelmed. There was that Ochoa save to the corner kick that could’ve been the first 2-1 goal, but all in all Chivas is still dealing with the same issues.
What The Win Means For Club America
The win was important for Club America to make sure that no doubts started to creep up before the playoffs. They’ve already punched their ticket to the playoffs in the top 4 teams that get a bye week in the tournament. So really points wise the game didn’t mean all that much for Club America. A loss against Chivas though could’ve derailed the positive momentum that the team does have coming into the playoffs.
What we saw from Club America was positive in many ways. In the last two games against Chivas, and Santos respectively the team lost the battle in midfield and wasn’t able to control the game like they have been used to for most of the season. Yet, as we mentioned they didn’t look all that uncomfortable. That could be more of a testament to the lack of firepower that we get from Chivas. As we mentioned, even though they had the ball they didn’t get a ton of shots on goal. Club America ultimately passed the final exam in the season, and had a chance to get healthy and look forward to the playoffs.
Chivas Has Come Crashing Back Down To Earth
Chivas was able to pick up a few wins in the middle third of the tournament, at this point though, we have to question why they were able to win those games. The level of competition they faced throughout most of the games they won was subpar. When they’ve had to face tougher competition, like America, and Tigres they’ve fallen flat there’s no way around that. The positive thing for Chivas is that they’ve gotten a chance to size themselves up against tougher competition, and they should be able to clearly see that they just don’t have what it takes to compete with the premium competition in Liga MX.
Although Chivas has pretty much punched their ticket to the playoffs in the bottom half of the seedings they could still fall a couple of spots on the table. What could be worse is that they mentally stay on this downward path. They close out the tournament with another high profile game against Cruz Azul. Whatever they do, Chivas should avoid a loss to Cruz Azul at all costs. They need to get that momentum back up, otherwise they are looking at an early playoff exit. Their main problem is their lack of offensive efficiency. Also, they are not so solid defensively!
