It is true that three defeats in five Liga MX matches, in addition to the painful elimination in the Quarterfinals of the Leagues Cup in a week to forget, are reason enough for concern; however, it is not time to sound the alarm or even think about extreme decisions.
It is evident that the blue-cream team has shown a notable decline in play, coupled with the irregularity characteristic of national football, from which not even “the greatest” is exempt.
The other reality is that the injuries have considerably weakened the Eagles. First of all, the two players who play on the wings and who are responsible for the imbalance, Alejandro Zendejas and Javairo Dilrosun, have been absent in this small crisis that the club is going through.
The Americanists were disappointed after losing to Puebla. Getty Images
If replacing a man like Julián Quiñones was already a complex task, and the Dutchman was doing well after a very discreet first tournament, it must be considered that suddenly coach André Jardine was left without ‘wings’ and with the Uruguayan Brian Rodríguez as the only alternative.
There is also a shortage of players in defence following the serious injury to Igor Lichnovsky, which will keep him out of action for seven to eight months, and in the match against Puebla the ‘fallen soldier’ was Sebastián Cáceres, the most important player in the defence.
The hierarchy, quality of its players and the mastery of a style allows América to take the initiative in matches, but it is a fact that it has lacked ideas, depth, variants that provide imbalance, and above all, goals.
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André Jardine: “All defeats hurt”
Statements by América’s coach after the match against Puebla.
Puebla is a very limited rival that won in an unlikely way, because in addition to everything mentioned, the Coapa team was – is – emotionally affected by what happened in the Leagues Cup. After losing the opportunity to go to the Club World Cup, this tournament appeared to be a certain consolation to make a statement on the international level.
However, nothing is lost, America will rise sooner rather than later with everything and has a major challenge at hand called Cruz Azul.
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It is not a ‘kill or be killed’ game, and much less an ultimatum for Jardine and a solid project that is seeking a third championship that no team has achieved since short tournaments were established in Mexico in 1996.
The Eagles simply need to get back to basics, resort to the formula that has taken them to the top, and in addition to recovering their injured players – mainly their offensive players – it would be good for them to define once and for all who they can count on and who they can’t, because uncertainty, such as the case of Álvaro Fidalgo, who could leave for Russia, certainly distracts the player.
There are many storms around the Nest, but that plumage is used to coming out unscathed and unwet from the worst weather.
