Chivas and Leon goalless in week 1 of 2020 Guardianes tournament
Prior to the beginning of this game Chivas confirmed that four of their starting players would not be available because they had tested positive for Covid-19.
León was superior to Chivas at the Omnilife stadium throughout the 90 minutes. The team from Guanajuato had the majority of the possession (58%), more completed passes (528) and total shots (13). Guadalajara was at home and was able to contain the visiting team with four of their key players and head coach out because they had tested positive for Covid-19.
León show their superiority
Despite all the stats being in favor of León, Chivas striker José Juan Macías had one of the clearest shots on goal, but the ball hit the post and at the end of the 90 minutes both teams left with one point to begin the 2020 Guardianes tournament. Even though they failed to score a goal, both teams showed potential ahead of the rest of the tournament.
Under Ignacio Ambriz, Club León has shown that they play the same whether they are at home or away and they will set the game's tempo early. Just 17 minutes had gone when Mena shot on goal but Chivas’ goalkeeper Antonio Rodríguez made an easy save.
Five minutes later León went on the full offensive and Pedro Aquino lobbed the ball inside the box but his shot went over the bar and just like that they had already missed two opportunities to open up the score at the Omnilife stadium.
Chivas had a couple of chances but none of them were as clear cut as the visiting team's and after 45 minutes both teams returned to their locker rooms. When the second half started Chivas chose to sub out Isaac Brizuela because he had a yellow card and the coach wanted to put one more midfielder in to slow down León.
The action returned on the 56th minute when Jean Meneses crossed the ball for Ángel Mena who was left alone inside the box but it was already clear that it wasn’t his night. Seven minutes later David Ramírez gave Mena the ball and once again with the goal wide open he missed another opportunity and the score remained 0-0.
Chivas would respond twice after the 69th minute. First, Cristian Calderón shot on goal and Rodolfo Cotta managed to block it, then Miguel Ponce put the ball inside the box and Jesús Molina’s header on goal was stopped by León’s goalkeeper.
After the 75th minute both teams were pushing for the three points and playing more offense. Chivas had a chance when Juan José Macías’ header ended up hitting the post. The visiting team had one more opportunity when Mena once again had the opportunity to win the game but couldn't take it.
Nobody was able to score a goal and after 90 minutes both teams ended up with a point. Chivas will visit Santos Laguna and León will debut at home against Monterrey for the second week of the 2020 Guardianes tournament. Chivas is expected to have Luis Fernando Tena back managing the game after recovering from Covid-19.