Match recap: Club América 4, Tijuana 0

Coming into the match, Club América was a conventional wisdom choice to challenge for the Superlíder while Tijuana was considered a dark horse candidate for Liguilla. Their match did little to dispel this, as América looked like a playoff team and downed Tijuana 4-0.

Neither team looked particularly dangerous at the start of the game. América was content to allow Tijuana to maintain possession and play small-ball, clogging up the field and not allowing long-balls forward. América looked like they wanted to test Jonathan Orozco early but the early shots were nowhere near the goal, sailing into the cavernous depths of Estadio Olímpico Universitario.

In the 14th when Miller Bolaños played a great ball forward into the box for Fabián Castillo. He was tangled up with Bruno Valdez and referee Adonai Escobedo initially awarded a penalty, but after a brief VAR review, Escobedo reversed his call and judged Castillo to have been played offside. The call was quite close The game opened up a bit, however it got a little chippy as the teams upped the physicality as play went on.

América had the first good chance of the evening when they hit Tijuana on a counterattack. Jorge Sánchez made a lung-busting run down the right and hit a cross over to Sebastián Córdova, but Jonathan Orozco was positioned perfectly and made a fantastic sprawling save.

In the 36th however América would get on the board when Xolos turned the ball over and Richard Sánchez would take a touch and fire from long distance, rifling the ball into the top of the net past a diving Orozco.

América kept the pressure on and in the 42nd Córdova hit a shot from just outside the box that went just high. Córdova had another look two minutes later off of a cross by Jorge Sánchez but the couldn’t connect cleanly and the shot went out for a goal kick. After just one minute of stoppage, América took a one goal lead and the momentum into the locker room with them.

After the start of the second half Tijuana had a good opportunity when they had a flurry of shots, however they were all blocked by América defenders. The last block started a counterattack, however some good defending by Jaime Gómez but down the shooting angle enough that Orozco was able to come out and make a relatively easy save.

In the 51st, Córdova hit a great pass to an onrushing Roger Martínez on the right flank, but the resulting shot went well over the bar. Córdova’s vision and creative abilities were on display. Martínez had another chance a few minutes later when Antonio “Chucho” López crossed the ball to him, but his one-time shot missed.

In the 56th, América would double the lead when Martínez tracked down a long corner kick, drove to the top of the box, and hit a cross on the ground. Federico Viñas tried to corral it, but instead it rolled to Valdez who unleashed a rocket past Orozco.

In the 60th Fabián Castillo drove deep for Xolos, making a couple of defenders miss on his way before hitting a shot that was stopped by a sliding tackle from seemingly out of nowhere. In the 66th Mauro Lainez hit a cross from the left that was out of the reach of Castillo. Tijuana simply couldn’t seem to keep pace with América, as passes all too often went nowhere and shots were from distance missed their marks

In the 78th, Roger Martínez would get past his defender and hit a bullet at Orozco. Orozco made the stop but the rebound rolled into empty space and ex-Xolo Henry Martín was there to easily knock the ball into the back of the net.

Martín wasn’t done. In the 84th Alonso Escoboza hit a cross from the left, and Martín was virtually unguarded and got his second of the evening to give the hosts the 4-0 lead.

Xolos were outmatched and out of ideas, and mercifully Escobai blew his whistle at the 90 minute mark to end the game. América will head to Aguascalientes to face Necaxa on Friday evening while Tijuana will host Tigres on Thursday evening.

Club América: Guillermo Ochoa; Jorge Sánchez, Sebastián Cáceres, Cruno Valdez, Luis Ricardo Reyes; Roger Martínez (Paul Aguilar, 86’), Richard Sánchez, Fernando González, Jesús López (Alonso Escoboza, 63’); Sebastián Córdova (Emilio Sánchez, 77’), Federico Viñas (Henry Martín, 77’)

Tijuana: Jonathan Orozco; Bryan Colula, Miguel Barbieri, Víctor Guzmán, Jaime Gómez; Clifford Aboagye, Kevin Balanta (Edwin Cardona, 58’); Bryan Angulo (Mauro Lainez, 58’), Miller Bolaños, Fabián Castillo; Ariel Nahuelpán (Edgar López, 82’)

Scoring: Club América - Richard Sánchez (36’), Bruno Valdez (56’), Henry Martín (78’, 84’); Tijuana - None

Disciplinary: Club América - Sebastián Cáceres (Yellow - 28’); Tijuana - Bryan Colula (Yellow - 35’), Clifford Aboagye (Yellow - 38’), Jaime Gómez (Yellow - 73’), Miller Bolaños (Yellow - 87’)