Chivas shades Clasico Nacional to leave Club America in disarray

Chivas came out on top in a typically ferocious Clasico Nacional against a reeling Club America on Saturday night.

Angel Zaldivar, who has proven himself unflappable from 12 yards so far in Liga MX, converted a penalty after half an hour to give Chivas a deserved lead over its hated rival. Pablo Aguilar was to blame for giving away the spot kick when he felled Alan Pulido in the area.

America was blessed with attacking options, but showed no real penetration going forward. With Javier Guemez protecting a back four, however, the capital city outfit was unimpeachable for the rest of the contest.

The remainder of the match didn't pass without incident. America's Miguel Samudio was given his marching orders by referee Luis Santander for a stomp on Jesus "Chapo" Sanchez, although it didn't appear to be deliberate on second glance. Then the visitor's manager, Ricardo La Volpe, was sent away from the technical area after he deliberately stepped onto the pitch to dispossess "Chapo" Sanchez.

La Volpe and his ranks seem to be losing direction. Although the refereeing decisions worked against America at times, and the squad is perhaps fatigued after the Apertura final and Club World Cup, there are questions over whether La Volpe is the man to arrest this downturn in form. Fourteenth spot in the Clausura doesn't make pretty reading for Las Aguilas' support and boardroom.

Eventually, Chivas delivered on its tag as the bookies' favourite with the 1-0 victory, and has now taken two crowd-pleasing wins over Guadalajara foes Atlas and America in the space of seven days.