Club América deepen Chivas Guadalajara’s woes with second Clásico Nacional victory in a week

Nicolas Castillo scored in under three minutes and Andres Ibarguen added another as Club América claimed their second 2-0 victory over rivals Chivas in a span of four days. Previously, both teams had met last Wednesday in the Quarterfinals of the Copa MX, in a game in which Las Águilas dominated from start to finish.

With just 150 seconds gone on the clock, Club América’s start couldn’t have been brighter after Nico Castillo sent a diving header past Raul Gudiño to put Las Águilas in front.

Chivas coach Jose Saturnino Cardozo was then forced to make an early change when Alexis Vega picked up a quick yellow in the 12th minute. Cardozo’s cautious approach, though, would not prevent his team from eventually going down to ten men moments later when Jesus Molina picked up a red card for a tackle on Guido Rodriguez.

Three minutes after the break, Club América twice came close to doubling their lead. First Nico Castillo’s floating header was saved easily by Raul Gudiño before a driven cross from Renato Ibarra failed to find anybody inside the box.

The home side were clearly being forced back, and it didn’t take long for Las Águilas to finally find a second. Andres Ibarguen roamed forward down the left-hand side and cut inside to smash home América’s second.

In the 73rd minute, Chivas nearly had a lifeline when Josecarlos Van Rankin header came close to reaching the back of the net.

The hosts would then have one last chance to cut into the lead after substitute Ronaldo Cisneros was denied by Agustin Marchesin.

At the end, the final whistle sounded as Club América earned another big win over their rivals.

The defeated rounded off a bad week for Jose Saturnino Cardozo, who is now under pressure following just one win in their last seven across all competitions.