Alejandro Zendejas did more than Juan Ferney Otero, but Santiago Solari refuses to start him

Club América managed to get their second draw of the season and first clean sheet in the Clásico Capitalino, as they saved a scoreless draw against Pumas UNAM on their visit to Ciudad Universitaria, in a match that was stuck in midfield most of the game.

More Club América news:

Club América could beat Manchester United in the acquisition of this player

The point earned in CU was a fresh breath of air to Santiago Solari, who will keep his job in Las Águilas dugout for at least another week, as the team showed an improvement from their previous performances, although they still are on the bottom of the table.

It seems unlikely that Santos Laguna will beat Cruz Azul for the last game of round 7 of Clausura 2022, but if they manage to do the miracle, Las Águilas will be the last team in Liga MX standing, at least until the next round is played, on Tuesday and Wednesday.

But even if América has a slightly chance of returning to the right track, Solari has decided to erase their best player in the season, as he’s preferred placing Juan Ferney Otero, who hasn’t fully adapted to El Nido, instead of Alejandro Zendejas, who was the most dangerous player of Las Águilas in the few minutes Solari gave him.

Zendejas’ performance with Las Águilas

Zendejas played just the added time in the 0-0 draw against Pumas, but he had at least three plays on the right side of the pitch that didn’t end in a goal by luck, doing more than what Otero did throughout the whole game, as neither América nor Pumas had a clear chance before that.

Zendejas arrived in the third round of Clausura 2022 from Club Necaxa, team where he thrived after a forgettable stint with Chivas. With Los Rayos, Zendejas played a total of 50 games, in which he scored 11 goals and two assistances.

With Las Águilas, Zendejas was part of the starting XI of Solari on his first game wearing the Azulcremas colors. He also started on the second match he played for América, although he was substituted at halftime. Since then, Solari has gave him leftovers, as he hasn’t played more than 15 minutes.

Why doesn’t Solari want him?

His decision of benching Zendejas is more tactical, as he felt that América needed a right-winger instead of another midfielder, which is why he prefers to start Otero instead of the 24-year-old midfielder.

He also knows that Juan Ferney Otero already has chemistry with Diego Valdés, as they played together in Santos Laguna, and were an effective duo, something that is trying to replicate in Las Águilas.

More Liga MX news:

While trying to save his job, Santiago Solari erased Alejandro Zendejas from Club América