Club América wins tour match at Talen Energy Stadium

The stands of Talen Energy Stadium were filled with blue and yellow Satuirday night as Mexican soccer fans gathered to watch Puebla FC and Club América face off.

The crowd sang the lyrics of the Mexican and American national anthems with the same vigor, and announcements were read in both English and Spanish. The energy reflected Philadelphia soccer fans' love  for the two clubs, especially the highly popular América, which notched a 4-0 victory.

The first half was even, with both teams finding offensive rhythm in the first 10 minutes. Club América brought the pressure first, stringing together a dangerous series of passes in the box in the seventh minute, but the Puebla defense recovered to clear the ball. After a yellow card was issued 10 minutes later to Puebla winger Félix Micolta, América fired another shot  that goalkeeper Agustin Marchesin quickly smothered.

The breakthrough for América came in the 23rd minute. Midfielder William Da Silva took a pass across the top of the box and fired a shot into the  netting, just beyond Marchesin's fingertips.

América's goal didn't dampen Puebla's spirit. The team saw several opportunities to even the score in the first half, but each fell slightly short. Goalkeeper Oscar Jimenez remained a rock for América throughout the half, fending off the Puebla attack.

In the 34th minute, a pass slipped into the penalty box for Jonás Aguirre, but he lost the handle when Jimenez dove at the ball and Aguirre couldn't get the shot on frame. Minutes later, Pablo Miguez took a long strike that Jimenez batted down. In their final effort for the half, Puebla served a free kick into the box for a perfect strike from point-blank ramge, but Jimenez snatched the ball out of the air.

Rain in the second half sent some fans running for cover, but many remained in their seats, lofting Mexican and Club América flags, and beating drums and singing.

The second half saw América take more control. In the 50th minute, a counterattack sent América streaking up the left side of the field. A perfectly threaded pass landed at Silvio Romero's feet at the top of the box, and he buried the shot with one touch. Fifteen minutes later, Alejandro Diaz knocked in a point-blank shot to bring the score to 3-0.

Puebla took back control in the last 10 minutes, putting on a hard attack and looking to at least threaten América's clean sheet on the night. But in the 84th minute, Ricardo Marin punched in the final goal, silencing the Puebla.