Thanks to a slew of injuries and some questionable officiating, Sunday night’s edition of Mexico’s Super Clasico won’t be looked back upon too fondly. Chivas Guadalajara had a terrible night, picking up three injuries and a red card in a 2-0 loss to Club América.
Chivas Guadalajara vs. Club América, 2013 Super Clasico: Final score 0-2, Goats crumble
Chivas Guadalajara endured an absolutely disastrous edition of the Super Clasico on Sunday night, losing three players to injury and getting another sent off in a loss to Club América.
Brian Bahr
Signs that Chivas would endure a tough evening surfaced very early on. Jorge Enrique was forced out of the match with an injury in the 13th minute, and was replaced by Fernando Gonzalez, a teenager who has appeared in just 39 minutes worth of Liga MX action this season. They lost their captain nine minutes later, as Hector Reynoso, who came into the game with a nagging injury, was unable to continue and came off for Victor Perales.
América looked to take the lead after 30 minutes on a header by Jesus Molina, but the referee spotted a foul by the América midfielder and waved off the goal. The visitors got a boost five minutes later, however, when Chivas defender Sergio Perez was shown a second yellow card, reducing his side to ten men. His foul on ‘Chucho’ Cristian Benitez was nothing outrageous, and the referee’s decision to send him off was questionable.
Shortly after the halftime break, América found their opening goal, which turned out to be the winner. Raul Jimenez was the scorer, getting his head onto the end of a cross by Juan Carlos Medina after a short corner routine. Less than two minutes later, Marco Fabian went down and had to exit the game, becoming the third Chivas player to be substituted due to an injury.
In the 74th minute, América sealed their victory. Jimenez was the scorer again, completing a brace with yet another header. Substitute Rubens Sambueza set up the goal, beating his man down the left wing before chipping a ball into the box for Jimenez to run onto and power into the net.
The visitors could have easily scored five or six goals in the second half, but didn’t take advantage of their opportunities. Given Chivas’ lack of opposition in the second half, it’s tough to blame them. America’s win marks the fourth time in four consecutive matches that the away side has won the Super Clasico in Liga MX play.
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