Cruz Azul showed two versions, committing to the attack and neglecting its defence; They reacted and dominated the ball, but America’s effectiveness outstripped them
He America brought a sharp halt to the almost complete progress of blue Cross in the Clausura 2024, defeating them by the only goal Julian Quinones On the Azteca Stadium field, in a match in which La Maquina lost the first half, but in the second half they played their best football, but the wing team had the strength to score three points.
till America For Andre Jardin, 20 minutes were enough to show his strength, but that was only enough to get a bittersweet 1-0 lead, giving him three points and his second win in his last five Liga MX games.
La Maquina was surprised by an Azulcrema team that began to dominate with a dynamic game that led to three scoring opportunities in just five minutes. First, Henry Martin sent his shot over the goal, but moments later the Copa team quickly attacked. Martin advanced the round Julian QuinonesJoe emerged and defeated Kevin Meier handily.
Julian QuinonesDiego Valdés and Henry Martín combined into a nightmare for rival defenders, but their main opponent was offside, which was signaled four times by the number two flag bearer. quinones He scored offside and later Valdés was one step ahead of the defenders.
superiority of America This prompted coach Martin Anselmi to implement a line of five defenders to try to contain the opponent. Just half an hour after the start of the game he returned to a line of four and made adjustments in midfield so as not to make himself look inferior to the wing players.
At the end of the first half, blue Cross He had the first chance in front of the opposition goal, through a through cross that went through the whole defense and found Carlos Rotondi sliding in at the second post, but sent the goal wide of Luis Malagon’s goal.
The Cement Workers started the second half better, dominating the midfield against the Copa workers and taking advantage of opportunities in the rival area. The Light Blues had a new option with Gonzalo Piovi, who fired a shot from mid-range and put Malagon in trouble.
America Had a golden opportunity to end the night with a counter that Valdes filtered quinones, the forward ran in front of Meier’s goal and after making a cut, he shot, but the goalkeeper saved his goal with his legs. The South American goalkeeper became the hero for the Light Blues with two crucial saves that prevented his rivals from progressing on the scoreboard and kept his team hopeful until the last minute.
blue Cross They had the ball, controlled, created emotion and created threat in the opposition area, but it was the wing team that came closest to goal. In a cross from the left, Henry Martin arrived with a header and touched the ball, but the impact was too sharp and went far away from the goal.
America They held their own in the last 20 minutes, adopted an aggressive approach and seemed satisfied with just one goal. The cement workers did not get a single clear chance to score the entire night, causing them to suffer a defeat that seemed unfair, but without the force they could not have had enough arguments to pick up a point.