Chivas beats Xolos in Tijuana to open 7th week of Clausura 2020

Chivas and Xolos played one of the key games of the seventh week of Clausura 2020 on Friday night in Tijuana. Both teams needed a victory to keep alive the possibility of making it to playoffs this semester.

Guadalajara were under extra pressure to win this week because of the signings they made for this tournament and had recorded two losses in a row prior to this game. The first half was explosive and in the 3rd minute the visiting team scored the first and only goal of the game thanks to their number 9, Jose Juan Macias.

Last week Uriel Antuna missed two goals that could have given the team victory against Cruz Azul but this week his mentality was different and he was one of the stand-out players in the game. The ex-Galaxy player gave a good assist to Macias who ended up scoring the game's winning goal.

The home team would have their chance though, with Miler Bolaños just a few minutes later missing a clear goal that would have levelled the match for Tijuana after just five minutes. Chivas goalkeeper, Antonio Rodriguez, kept the advantage for the visiting team.

In the 9th minute the Chivas offense were close to scoring the second goal of the night but Xolos’ goalkeeper, Gibran Lajud blocked a fantastic shot from Fernando Beltran. It was end to end stuff for the entire first 45 minutes.

After 17 minutes Jesus Sanchez received a severe foul from Mauro Lainez. Initially the referee did not pick up on the severity of the offence but after a VAR check referee Marco Antonio Ortiz approached Lainez and sent him off, leaving Tijuana with 10 players.

Chivas had one more player for the majority of the game but an injury forced Luis Fernando Tena to modify his lineup. In the 38th minute, Jesus Molina asked for a sub and “Gallito” Vazquez came in to replace him in the midfield.

The second half was markedly different from the first with Chivas far less explosive than before, and sitting waiting for the counterattack given their numerical advantage. In the 61st minute Miguel Ponce pushed Gonzalez in the box and Marco Antonio Rodriguez didn’t hesitate to whistle the penalty.

The man in charge of looking to tie the game was Miler Bolaños but his shot went slightly astray and the ball hit the post, wasting Tijuana's best chance to get back into the match. It was not until the 74th minute that Edwin Cardona’s high pressure helped him get the ball inside the box but Antonio Rodriguez was well aware and came out the goal line to stop the attack. Four minutes later VAR invalidated a goal from Sepulveda because of an infringement at a corner kick.

Erick Torres, Ex-Chivas player, had the last opportunity of the game but he couldn’t reach the ball after a good cross from his teammate. Guadalajara then finally gets their second win of the tournament since week one against Juares and their next match will be against Leon at the Akron stadium. Xolos will face Puebla at home in a must-win for the Tijuana team if they still want to make it to playoffs of Clausura 2020.