Unlike the Montreal Impact, who had the weekend off to prepare for Wednesday’s CONCACAF Champions League final second leg (8 pm ET, FOX Sports 2), Club América were in action on Sunday, playing Chivas Guadalajara to a 1-1 draw in Mexico’s Super Clasico.
The match was sandwiched between the first and second legs of the CCL final, coming four days after the Impact shocked América with a 1-1 draw at Estadio Azteca and just three days before Montreal host the Mexican giants in the decisive second leg.
América manager Gustavo Matosas made just three changes to the lineup that faced Montreal last Wednesday, inserting US national team defender Ventura Alvarado – who was suspended for last Wednesday’s first leg – for Erik Pimentel, swapping Jose Guerrero for Cristian Pellerano and adding Jose Madueña for Michael Arroyo.
Both Pellerano and Arroyo came off the bench to play significant second-half minutes for Las Aguilas on Sunday. Forward Oribe Peralta, who scored the late equalizer last week against Montreal, did not feature for Matosas.
Defender Paul Aguilar gave América an early lead, rifling home a long-distance strike in the 16th minute to put the visitors up 1-0. Chivas controlled most of the rest of the contest, holding a large possession advantage before eventually equalizing through Aldo de Nigris in the 63rd minute.
While they did nab a solid road point, América did not escape Guadalajara unscathed, as captain Rubens Sambueza left Sunday’s match at halftime due to an injury. No word yet on how the knock will affect the influential midfielder’s status for Wednesday’s second leg at Olympic Stadium.
