Club America start Apertura 2019 on the right foot vs Monterrey

Mateus Uribe celebrating his goal in front of the fans.

Mexico City, MX - The start of the Apertura 2019 saw Club America open up their campaign with a win against Monterrey in front of their home fans. In a game that can be best described as "a tale of two halves," left a lot to desire for Las Aguilas even after a scoreline of 4-2.

After coming off victorious in the Campeon de Campeones match against Tigres and crowning themselves Champions of Liga MX, all eyes where on Miguel Herrera and his men as they opened up their season at the Estadio Azteca against one of the leagues heavy hitters. There was no surprises to "Piojo's" line-up as he had confirmed it the day prior and the team went out against Monterrey as follows: A. Marchesin, P. Aguilar (c), B. Valdez, E. Aguilera, J. Sanchez, M. Uribe, G. Rodriguez, R. Ibarra, R. Martinez, S. Cordova, N. Castillo.

Starting XI vs Monterrey | Photo via Twitter @ClubAmerica_EN

The opening minutes for Club America were not ideal as the team saw themselves being pressed by the visiting side, not being able to get into rhythm which caused the team to not settle into the game well. Monterrey capitalized on this and the defensive mess that was Club America to open up the match in the seventh minute as Rogelio Funes Mori found the back of the net. Finding themselves already down so early into the game the pressure was more on Las Aguilas who now needed to turn the game around and at the same time wake up to try to get into the match. The response from the team was exactly what the fans and Miguel Herrara would of wanted as nine minutes later Nico Castillo equalized the game from the penalty spot with a bullet of a shot. And just like that in less than 20 minutes this game tied again.

But the celebrations wouldn't end there for Club America as they found the back of the net yet again three minutes later. This time it was Mateus Uribe who put America in the lead after a great cross from Renato Ibarra finds him in the 18 yard box and the Colombian midfielder heads it past the Monterrey goalkeeper.

It looked like the team had just completed exactly what was needed of them so soon into the match. Yet, with the lead at hand Club America still did not look well on the field. Many impressions in their game lead to Monterrey finding an equalizing goal 15 minutes before the end of the half. An over the head ball was played into Aviles Hurtado who was being poorly marked by Bruno Valdez and the Monterrey attacker headed past an out-of-goal Marchesin to tie the game two a piece. Now it seemed that it was back to the drawing board for Miguel Herrera's side as they concede yet again due to poor defending. And that was really the narrative of the first half, mistake after mistake from both teams defensive side of the game. Not to mention imprecise passing mostly from the Club America players when trying to find a way to play out the back only to launch a ball forward in hopes of one their players to find it. But in the end after 45 minutes of regular time and 5 minutes of added time the game was tied 2-2.

During halftime the club waved goodbye to their academy player Edson Alvarez who recently signed for Dutch league champions Ajax. The Mexican center back turned into center defensive mid was waved off by an emotional Estadio Azteca as he walked all around the pitch to say his good byes to the fans that saw him grow into the player he has become.

The second half saw Club America come out in strong fashion but it wasn't without first almost conceding in the opening seconds of the half, which kept posing the question if the team was truly concentrated especially at the back. But soon those doubts where put to rest as the team woke up in strong fashion and in the 49th minute Nico Castillo would head home his second of the night and put the team up 3-2.

With the lead in tact once again, "Piojo's" men now had the task to not only hold onto the lead but find a way to secure the game after sucker punching Monterrey with that early goal. And the team did just that thru out the game with having the ball for long periods of time and using their ball possession wisely. It wasn't the most perfect game from this team but they where able to keep Monterrey at bay by working the ball in there favor and moving it around the pitch finding themselves on their opponents side of the field more often than theirs. Each advancement from Club America felt more threatening with only that final crucial pass missing in order to really get that last goal that would seal the match for them. It wasn't until Jeremy Menez was introduced into the game in the 71st minute for Nico Castillo that America had there best opportunity presented to them and in the 77th minute of the match Roger Martinez would seal the game after picking up a blocked shot which he then put past the Monterrey keeper making it 4-2.

Monterrey didn't really have the right response to America in the second half and that lead to them ultimately losing this game due to poor defending and poor decision making when going forward. Ultimately, the game ended with a score line of 4-2 in what was probably one of the more entertaining matches this week in Liga MX. Club America will be content but not happy with the game displayed at hand in front of their home fans. Even with this being the first game back for both these teams a lot of questions will be asked of both defenses after tonights match and whether or not they'll be addressing these mistakes at hand. Still Miguel Herrera will have some positives to take away from this game in regards to his attacking department. Both strikers got on the scoreboard and that will ultimately help them in the confidence department going forward with the season. Also, Renato Ibarra with a man of the match performance with not only two assist but winning the penalty that leveled the game in the beginning of the match, should continue to help and reinforce the talent and confidence the Ecuadorian winger has.

Up next for Club America will be a midweek quarterfinal match against MLS side Huston Dynamo in the new Leagues Cup competition and then a tough away match against Liga MX side Club Leon in the Jornada two.