Club America saw their long-standing win streak end last night against Santos. Pretty much the only reason why the winning streak ended was because referee Fernando Hernandez was ashamed to add even more time to the game which he took until the 99th minute of play to help Club America score the tying goal. That’s not an issue that we’ll cover here though. With the streak coming to an end Club America can focus on what really matters which is making sure that the team is in shape for the playoffs.
A lot of times when teams find themselves in these situations where if they run the table they’ll reach a historic milestone they add more pressure to themselves than they can handle. That extra layer of pressure isn’t necessarily something that you welcome as you’re making a championship run. There’s another reason why the game against Santos in particular served as a good teaching point for Club America. They’ve had to deal with some adversity in the last couple of games, and they’ve shown they can handle it.
Not Repeating Santiago Solari’s Mistakes
The current squad at Club America already knows what it’s like to be at the top of the table at the end of the season. They also know that in Liga MX that doesn’t mean a thing if you don’t win the title once the playoffs are done. One of the main benefits that Tano Ortiz has over Solari is that despite the win streak his team has had to claw their way back from behind. With Necaxa they got down early, but then they just flipped the field, and were all over them until they came back and won the game. Knowing what that’s like (coming from behind) can be vital in the playoffs. The games get tighter, the refs swallow the whistle, and before you know it a lesser team knocks you out of the tournament.
It’s also important to point out that this America team has a lot more firepower offensively than Solari’s teams. Solari’s team may have been much more solid in the midfield and the defensive side of things, but you never thought that they had that one guy that when all else fails could go and get you a goal. Now, there are actually several with Jonathan Rodríguez, and Henry Martin leading the charge. Their presence and good form opens up opportunities for players like Dos Santos coming up from behind or even Federico Viñas who scored the final goal last night. Viñas has proven that he’s not good enough to be the number one option at striker on a team like America. However, if you bring him on as a substitute, and you have other guys that can command attention from the defense he can score a few goals!
Is Club America The Only Real Title Favorite?
We’ve been guilty of this, trying to pick out a few teams as “title favorites”. Throwing around teams like Monterrey, and Tigres recently as favorites. We even went as far as to question whether Pachuca, and Chivas could be in the conversation. Those takes are currently not looking as solid this evening. It’s hard to deny though, that it’s Club America who are arriving to these final games of the season in the best shape. The resiliency they have shown, and the presence of real offensive weapons that they did not have under Solari can push them over the top. Tigres, and Monterrey may be the biggest challenges in their path. Even though they lost to Juarez, Pachuca may give them fits. In any case, let’s give credit where credit is due though, at this point Club America is THE favorite for the Liga MX crown.
