Chivas got the 2-0 victory they needed over Tigres in the 2nd leg of the quarterfinals to qualify to the next round. Chivas dominated an extremely defensive Tigres, that gave a terrible display as they went out. Chivas was the better team from the start and had a number of chances but they needed up to the 72nd minute to finally score. Chivas will now play in the Semifinals where they will face Cruz Azul, who eliminated them in the Apertura 2025.
The 1st half started with Chivas coming out with their best team available while Tigres had left some key players on the bench like Diego Lainez. A minute into the game, Ricardo Marin got into the area and scored with a left footed shot but it was ruled to be offside. Angel Correa got off a right footed shot inside the area that went wide. A cross into the area found a wide open Santiago Sandoval, who whiffed with his volley and wasted a great chance. Omar Govea got off a right footed shot that went just wide. A right footed shot from outside the area from Govea forced Tigres’ goalkeeper, Nahuel Guzman, to make a great save. Off the ensuing corner kick, the cross into the area was volleyed by Bryan Alonso Gonzalez but Guzman made a wonderful save. A cross into the area was headed past Guzman but Francisco Reyes was able to clear the ball before Angel Sepulveda could get into an open net goal chance. After Juan Pablo Vigon got the ball in the area, he got off a close range shot that went straight to Chivas’ goalkeeper, Oscar Whalley. A right footed shot from outside the area from Diego Campillo would go just wide. A cross into the area was just out of reach for Sepulveda to head from close range. Another cross into the area would be headed by Sepulveda but it would go just wide. Another cross into the area would fall to Marin, whose left footed shot would go wide. The halftime whistle blew and although Chivas dominated the match, it remained scoreless which meant they would be eliminated if things don’t change.
The 2nd half started with Tigres subbing out Diego Sanchez for Diego Lainez. A cross from Alonso Gonzalez would turn into a shot that Guzman saved. A shot from Govea from outside the area was deflected right to Guzman.Tigres subbed out Rodrigo Aguirre for Vladimir Loroña. Juan Pablo Vigon was injured and had to be subbed out. Rafael Guerrero took his spot. A cross into the area was deflected but right to Guzman. Chivas subbed out Jose Castillo for Miguel Gomez. A cross into the area from Ruben Gonzalez was cleared by Guzman before two Chivas attackers could get a close range chance. A right footed shot from Gomez was cleared by a defender. A right footed shot by Marin would be deflected from close range by Santiago Sandoval and it would go past Guzman to score and give Chivas the 1-0 lead. The goal finally arrived after Chivas had dominated the match. A cross into the area from Govea would be brilliantly headed by Santiago Sandoval, as it went past Guzman to score and give Chivas the 2-0 lead. In a couple of minutes, Chivas changed the match and the series and now they were the ones off to the Semifinals. Richard Ledezma got off a low shot that went wide. Tigres subbed out Jesus Alberto Angulo and Jesus Garza for Andre Pierre Gignac and Marcelo Flores. A great thru pass found Juan Brunetta but his right footed shot was brilliantly saved by Whalley. A cross into the area was headed by Gignac but Whalley made another save. Chivas subbed out Richard Ledezma and Ricardo Marin for Gilberto Sepulveda and Sergio Aguayo. A cross into the area was lowered into the path of Flores, who got off a left footed shot from close range that went wide. After a strong foul by Francisco Reyes on Gonzalez, the referee would go to VAR and give the Tigres player a red card. Down to 10 players, it looked like Tigres’ night was over. Chivas subbed out Efrain Alvarez and Santiago Sandoval for Yael Padilla and Mickey Tapias. A 1 vs 1 had Aguayo with a great chance for a goal but his lobbed shot went over Guzman but wide. The match would end and Chivas got the result they needed to go thru to the Semifinals.
After a 3-1 result in the first leg, Chivas looked to be in real danger of going out. Not only had Tigres crushed them by a 4-1 score in the regular season but Chivas were missing key players because of the World Cup, as they were already in Mexico’s training camp. Yet Chivas surprised by dominating the match from the first minute against a Tigres side that was too defensive. Tigres didn’t showed urgency on the attack until it was too late and then they went down to 10 players. Meanwhile Chivas had problems up top but Santiago Sandoval came thru to write his name in Chivas’ liguilla history with the two goals. Still Chivas will have a lot tougher task against a Cruz Azul that had a great series against Atlas and looks to be clicking in the liguilla. To make things worse, they were the team that eliminated Chivas from last season’s Liguilla. Chivas will need to improve because it’s doubtful they would give a performance like the one Tigres gave.
