Club América suffered a defeat against Atlético San Luis in the opening match of the Apertura 2024

Club América started the season with an away defeat, losing to Atlético San Luis. The Aguilas started the game with a goal in the first few minutes, but San Luis responded immediately and later took the lead. Atlético hit the reigning champions with shot after shot and the defense couldn’t keep up. It wasn’t the start América had hoped for, but it was only the first week. Now they will focus their energy on Friday’s home game against Querétaro, while San Luis prepares to play against Mazatlán.

Kick-off was delayed for around 10 minutes due to technical issues with the VAR. Eventually, the issues were resolved and the game was able to get back on track. The action started immediately when Franck Boli sent a cross into the box that slipped past Rodolfo Cota. A minute later, they had another chance to score at home when Ronaldo Nájera shot at goal, but the shot ended up in the hands of Cota. Although San Luis had hoped to score first at home, it was not to be as América had other plans.

Alvaro Fidalgo sent a long pass from midfield to Henry Martin, who beat the Atlético defence. Martin only had to get the ball past Andres Sanchez and he did just that, lofting the ball over Sanchez while remaining offside. It wasn’t an ideal start for the home side, but it was the beginning of the game so there was still plenty of time to get back into the game. Atlético wasted no time, however, and almost immediately responded with a goal of their own.

The home team were awarded a corner which the Aguilas struggled to clear. There was confusion in the defence as no one intervened when Nájera entered the box and passed the ball to Mateo Klimowicz who fired it into the net. The Aguilas defence collapsed for a few moments and San Luis took advantage of this to equalise in the seventh minute. The next 10 minutes were a back and forth between the two teams as the game settled down after the early goals. In the 17th minute, América came close to regaining the lead when Alejandro Zendejas had the ball at his feet after San Luis failed to get the ball out of his own box and out of danger. Zendejas did not hesitate and sent the ball towards Martins but although Sanchez was able to hit the ball he was unable to hold onto it and his teammates tried to clear the rebound which they did. More time passed with both teams playing back and forth and it wasn’t until the 38th minute that a big move occurred. Throughout the match, Cota and his back line had been playing from the back most of the time to get goal kicks. When playing from the back, players have to keep a close eye on their opponents because a tiny mistake can cost the team a goal, which almost happened when Fidalgo played a pass to his teammate but the pass was weak and Sebastien Salles-Lamonge got the ball instead. He attempted the shot but Cota was able to block the initial shot and somehow he also got to the rebound and stopped the ball before Boli could reach it. Before the half was over, San Luis had another chance for a corner but the América defense was there to clear the ball as the match went into halftime.

The second half began just like the first: a goal was scored after five minutes.

Klimowicz once again stepped up for San Luis as he ripped the entire América defence out of midfield and charged at full speed into the visitors’ penalty area. Once there, he fired the ball towards goal and sent it past Cota to give the home side the lead. The youngster scored a brace at home and on his birthday. The Aguilas tried to reply with a goal of their own when they were awarded a free kick a minute later after Jonathan Dos Santos was fouled outside the box. Richard Sanchez was the one who took the shot as he decided not to take the shot directly but to send the ball into the box to pass to his teammates who could not reach it so it went out of play instead and was awarded a goal kick. Then in the 60th minute, André Jardine opted to make changes, bringing on Erick “Chiquito” Sanchez, Esteban Lozano and Dagoberto Espinoza to give the team some much-needed momentum. The changes had an immediate impact and Lozano almost scored before Andres Sanchez cleared the ball. Lozano played briefly in Spain for Sporting Gijon’s B team and was more than inclined to make an impression in Mexico, having been unable to do so abroad. In the 68th minute, América failed to capitalise on a mistake by Andres Sanchez, who made a mistake when he decided to come out of his box to chase a ball he couldn’t reach. Thankfully, his defence was able to get the ball out of danger before Aguila could slot it into an empty net. Ten minutes later, both teams were getting a little desperate. América needed a goal to equalise, while San Luis wanted to keep the lead and beat the reigning champions. San Luis then began committing multiple fouls as the Aguilas led the field with one scoring opportunity after another. Even with multiple free kicks, the Aguilas were unable to capitalize on any of their chances. Erick Sanchez even had a chance to score with an overhead kick, but the ball ended up in the hands of Andres Sanchez as time was running out for the visitors to equalize. In the seven minutes of stoppage time, América continued to push for a goal. Both Henry Martin and Fidalgo were fouled, but nothing happened on those free kicks. It was even confusing why the Aguilas didn’t attempt a shot on goal after Fidalgo’s foul. They weren’t close, but they were far away where someone could send the ball into the box and have a scoring opportunity, but instead the team attempted a short pass. Ultimately, that was their last chance before the referee blew the whistle to end the match and San Luis managed to do what few teams have done: beat Club América. This is not how the team wanted to start the season, but it is only the first week and Atlético San Luis hopes this is a sign of a great season to come.