Atletico San Luis shock America to get their first victory of the season.

Atletico San Luis surprised America to get a 3-0 lead in a match that eventually ended 3-2 after a late comeback. America fought in the final minutes, but they couldn’t make up for their terrible defensive mistakes early on, pushing the team into a heavy crisis. Coach Santiago Solari will now have to pick up the team with the added pressure as they face a tough away game against Santos, while San Luis hopes to have a good debut with new coach Andre Jardine as they face Toluca at home.

The first half started with America coming out for the first time with Jonathan Dos Santos and Juan Ferney Otero on the starting lineup. They also had the return of Roger Martinez after the end of his suspension because of his red card against Puebla. San Luis surprised everybody by getting the first chance when a free kick was headed into the path of Ricardo Chavez. Chavez dove to head the ball and forced America’s goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa to make a great save before the ball hit the post. A minute later San Luis got a corner kick and surprised America by taking it quickly. Unai Bilbao was able to rise to get a header past Ochoa for the 1-0 lead. San Luis took a deserved lead as they had surprised an America side that probably expected them to be very defensive, instead going on the offense from the start. San Luis kept at it and looked to have scored after Juan Sanabria stole a ball and scored with a left footed shot, but his goal was called off because of a foul after the referee checked on VAR. America then got their first chance when a free kick taken by Miguel Layun went barely wide. San Luis answered back when German Berterame rose and headed a cross, forcing Ochoa to make a good save. After a foul on Sebastian Caceres, there was a scuffle between Layun and Jair Diaz. Caceres was injured on the play and had to be taken out for the match. New signing Jorge Mere came in his place, making his debut with America. America then came close again when a shot by Salvador Reyes forced San Luis’ goalkeeper Marcelo Barovero to make a good save. America had taken control of possession as expected before the match, but they weren’t creating chances as San Luis was defending well. San Luis had a great chance when a through ball found Abel Hernandez in the area, but Ochoa made a great play by taking the ball off his feet. The halftime whistle blew as the stands were filled with boos from the angry America fans.

The second half started with America subbing out Luis Fuentes and Alejandro Zendejas for Mauro Lainez and Diego Valdes as they looked to build some momentum on offense. There was a harsh foul from Jordan Silva on Berterame that was given a yellow card, but replays showed it looked like it was closer to a red. Then a great pass took America by surprise as Sanabria went on a one-on-one against Ochoa, and Sanabria made a good back pass to a wide open Abel Hernandez who scored into the empty net for the 2-0 lead. San Luis came close to scoring again when a long cross almost was headed in by Facundo Waller after Layun made a terrible mistake in not going for the cross. Then after another counter attack from a bad pass from Valdes, a great pass to Hernandez found him on a one-on-one against a defender. Hernandez then made a good play in waiting for German Berterame, who then only had to shoot the ball past Ochoa for the 3-0 lead. It was a great result so far for San Luis, as America was doing a terrible job of controlling the counter attacks as they went on the attack. America subbed out Jonathan Dos Santos and Juan Otero for Richard Sanchez and Henry Martin. San Luis then subbed out Abel Hernandez for Jhon Murillo. After Roger Martinez fell in the area, the referee gave a penalty kick. Replays showed there was no contact and Martinez looked to have dived. The ref went to VAR and called the penalty off. San Luis subbed off Ricardo Chavez, Jair DIaz, and Andres Iniestra for Jose Clemente, Emmanuel Garcia, and Juan Castro. A left footed shot from the area from Rubens Sambueza forced Ochoa to make another save. A minute later, Rubens Sambueza was subbed out for Zahid Muñoz, coming off to the applause of the fans. Then after a very bad foul on Facundo Waller, Miguel Layun, who had a terrible game, got red carded leaving America with ten players. Layun threw a huge tantrum, kicking things all the way into the locker room as he shouted at the cameras about how bad the referees are. America then got one back after a cross into the area was lowered by Henry Martin, who then found Roger Martinez, who got a strong close range shot past Barovero to make it 3-1. San Luis almost answered with a three-on-three attack, but Murillo failed to control the ball and it allowed the America defense to clear it for a corner kick. On the ensuing corner kick, Ramon Juarez jumped to make a great header but Ochoa made a great save off the line. America took advantage of that, and on the next play a great cross by Martinez into the area found Henry Martin, who got off a great header past Barovero to cut the deficit to 3-2. San Luis tried to answer, but Murillo’s shot went just wide. America tried to come back but ran out of time, and San Luis held on for the great away result.

Club America’s terrible start got a lot worse with this loss at home against a San Luis that had just fired their coach and hadn’t scored a goal this season. America made terrible defensive mistakes, and the score would have been worse if not for some great saves by Ochoa. They now have a very tough away match against Santos and will need for the team to gel, especially on offense. Atletico San Luis made a great game and although they dangerously came close to getting tied, they were the superior side and the win was deserved. They should improve when gold medal winning coach Andre Jardine arrives to coach. So far he couldn’t ask for a better gift, although he will have a tough debut at home against Toluca. Meanwhile America will travel to face Santos in a game where there might be a lot of pressure for a coaching change as Solari needs to find out what is wrong with this team so far.