MEXICO CITY -- Club America left Estadio Azteca with its first home win of the 2016 Clausura on Saturday after a 2-0 win over Santos Laguna. Manager Ignacio "Nacho" Ambriz said afterward that it was a win that the team had been looking to achieve. Las Aguilas' last home game finished with a devastating 1-4 loss to Pachuca, so its win over Santos, who came to Mexico City riding three consecutive wins, revitalized Ambriz's project at America.
For a second consecutive game, forward Oribe Peralta finished with his name on the score sheet. Dario "Pipa" Benedetto was left on the bench in favor of partnering Peralta with Darwin Quintero up top. It was a risky decision from Ambriz, but Peralta made sure that it worked; not so much Quintero, who missed a great chance to give Los Azulcremas an early lead.
However, what differentiated America from its opponent on Saturday wasn't its forwards or creators, but rather its full-backs -- Paul Aguilar and Osmar Mares -- and defensive midfielder William da Silva.
Several days before America made the trip to Sinaloa to play Dorados, center-back Paolo Goltz told ESPN FC that Aguilar was "a very important player for the team, and that it would always be good to have him on the field because he is a national-team footballer." He then went on to explain that the team didn't miss Aguilar in the first three matches of the Clausura because two had finished without allowing a goal, against Puebla and Atlas.
Aguilar doesn't only provide defensive stability, though. He becomes another attacker for America, and that was key against Santos, who couldn't find a way of stopping him.
Ambriz's decision to allow Aguilar to repeatedly push forward was the main reason why playmaker Bryan Rabello couldn't focus on Santos' attack. The Chilean was too busy supporting left-back Jorge Villafana, who had his hands full with Aguilar. Defending is not Rabello's forte, and Aguilar made him pay.
Aguilar belatedly started his 2016 in insatiable fashion, as if he was trying to send a message to Mexico manager Juan Carlos Osorio, who prefers the right-footed Miguel Layun at right-back. Because of his experience, Aguilar can be considered as the most complete right-back in Liga MX. If these performances continue, then Osorio will need to find a solution, and that solution could well be to put Layun on the left and Aguilar on the right, as it was under Miguel Herrera.
Mares and Da Silva have appeared in the team's past two starting XIs. Against Santos, both passed the test, however it was the Brazilian-Mexican Da Silva who quietly stole the show. At Victor Manuel Vucetich's Queretaro, he would usually appear on the left as a key cog in the attack. That hasn't been the case at America, where he's featured more centrally and has more involvement with the defense. The fact that Da Silva is left-footed allows Ambriz to have one natural right-footed defensive midfielder in Osvaldo Martinez and one left-footer in William, which opens up options when starting play from the heart of the pitch.
Not only that, but Da Silva has the stamina to cover a lot of ground, and he seems to be an expert in man marking. Santos did very little on the attack because Da Silva sniffed out most of its forays forwaard. He left the match with a cramp, a sign that he had given his all on Saturday. Next up is a trip to Veracruz, and the question is whether Ambriz will repeat his starting XI at the Estadio Luis "Pirata" Fuente.