Cruz Azul vs Chivas: the top scorers in Liga MX’s historic rivalry

Chivas and Cruz Azul top the bill in Saturday’s fixtures in the Liga MX. The Azteca hosts what is by far the attractive match of matchday 10 of the Clausura 2024 and while it might not be considered a ‘Clásico’ of Mexican soccer, the rivalry between these two clubs is undeniable and a fascinating contest awaits.

Historically, this has been a fixture that never fails to produce goals with results in recent years being extremely close. Players on both sides have set their own personal records, so let’s take a look at who has found the target the most.

Leading marksmen

The player with the most goals in the rivalry is Fernando Bustos, a winger who spent his entire professional career wearing the Cementera shirt. During those 16 seasons, he managed to find the back of the net 11 times against the Rebaño Sagrado. His record remains in tact to this day although sadly, Bustos was tragically killed in a car accident in 1979 aged just 35.

After him, the next five player in the list all belong to Guadalajara.

Second place is shared by two red and white figures, Eduardo de la Torre and Ramón Morales with nine goals each. Yayo is remembered for two goals in particular - a brace during the second leg of the 1986-87 final as well as what turned out to be his last goal as a Chivas player - against La Máquina in the 1991-92 season.

They are followed by Omar Bravo with eight goals, six of which were in the league, including four in the Clausura 2003, and another couple in friendly matches. After him comes Adolfo Bautista with seven goals, several of them remembered for being decisive, match winners or outstanding finishes.

Luis Antonio Valdez and Joel Sánchez share sixth position with six goals each. El Cadáver deserves special mention for scoring four goals in a single game (during the 1990-91 season). He appears in the list mainly for that achievement - despite being a forward, he was not particularly prolific, scoring 25 goals in 140 appearances for Chivas.

Further down the ranking, the Cementeros appear again with ‘Cabecita’, ‘Gatillero’ and ‘Tito’ who, during their time at the Noria, scored five, four and three goals respectively. Curiously, since 2010, the player who scored the most times in this fixture was Emanuel; since then, no one else has been able to get on the scoreboard more than once.

The games that awaits us on Saturday evening will be in the spotlight for the historic meetings that precede it. Erick Guitiérrez, Víctor Guzmán and Ronaldo Morell were Guadalara’s most recent scorers against Cruz Azul while Carlos Antuna was the only Celestes player to find the net against Chivas, his old club, in 2023, controversially kissing the badge during his celebration.

The two teams head into the game occupying positions in the top half of the standings - Cruz Azul sit second on 19 points while Guadalajara are six places below them in eighth - one of three teams on 15 points after the first nine matches of the campaign.