Following their elimination from the Copa MX, Club America took its frustrations out against Santos Laguna in a 3-1 win at the Estadio Azteca on Saturday.
It took under 10 minutes for las Aguilas to earn a lead over Santos. After Renato Ibarra went down on the right side of the penalty box, Silvio Romero landed a penalty shot towards the left post for the 1-0 lead.
Djaniny tied the game at one each with a header grazing the right post at the 33-minute mark, but Michael Arroyo and Ibarra connected to break the stalemate a few minutes before the end of the first half. On a counter attack, Ibarrra laid a cross to the left towards Arroyo, who positioned close to the goal post snuck the ball in past the goalkeeper Agustín Marchesín for his third consecutive goal in three games.
With the lead at 2-1, Rubens Sambueza padded the one-goal lead with almost 25 minutes left by scoring off an own rebounded shot for the 3-1 advantage. From there, America saw little reason to worry as Santos couldn’t find any clear opportunities on goal.
The win over Santos kept las Aguilas in playoff contention by bringing its point total to 26 points. With Chivas, who eliminated America earlier in the week in the Copa MX semifinal stage, sweating out a 3-2 win over Cruz Azul, America stay one spot behind their rival with the fifth spot in the rankings.