Chivas Drop America 3-1 to Take First Place in Apertura

Chivas emerged with the bragging rights and first place in the table after the latest edition of Mexico's Superclasico, as the two teams combined for four goals in the first 20 minutes of the contest.

The away side was able to opening the scoring early on with arguably the finest goal of the game. Marco Fabian broke down the left flank and whipped a cross in for Antonio Gallardo to connect on a diving header five minutes in. Christian Benitez would quickly equalize with a header of his own, managing to rise above the Chivas defense to turn home a free kick from Daniel Montenegro. However, it proved to be a false dawn for the home side.

Fabian – a week removed from his controversial goal celebration and playing after an emotional week in which he opened up about his own brother's death – turned home the second, but he had America goalkeeper Armando Navarrete to thank. Guillermo Ochoa's replacement could not get a handle on a routine cross, which dropped to Fabian, who volleyed home at the far post. Just a minute later, promising forward Erick Torres headed home what would stand as an insurance goal, netting from a Jesus Sanchez cross as Navarrete once again flapped at a ball in the air.

The quickfire double quickly quieted the Estadio Azteca, save for the boisterous and numerous contingent of away fans, and allowed Chivas to comfortably see out the game. While America did threaten occasionally – Luis Ernesto Michel made perhaps the save of the round on Benitez in the dying minutes of the first half – Chivas largely frustrated Las Aguilas with a strong defensive performance that largely frustrated America.

On Monday, America forward Angel Reyna, who struggled for large portions of the match, was suspended indefinitely by the club after criticizing team captain Aquivaldo Mosquera and the rest of the defense. With the defeat, America sits 16th out of 18, its hopes of reaching the playoffs all but extinguished.

Posted in: América,Quadalajara Chivas