Erick Gutiérrez, the most effective player after Clausura 2024 openers

Chivas were unable record their first victory of the Clausura 2024 but at least Erick Gutiérrez is continuing the kind of form he showed in the last tournament. He was the most effective player in the opening weekend of action, salvaging a point for his team and completing 81 successful passes in the 1-1 draw with Santos Laguna. Those figures place him ahead of Mazatlán’s Jefferson Intriago and Tijuana’s Christian Rivera, according to specialist statistics portal Golstats.

Gutiérrez crowned his performance with a late equaliser, pulling a goal back nine minutes into stoppage time. It saved the day for his his team, keeping them unbeaten ahead of the next game, against Tigres on Sunday.

Gago imprint

Erick, who finished the last tournament with a bang, once again had a lot of contact with the ball and created most of the team’s advances. His game will undoubtedly develop further under new coach Fernando Gago, who wants impose a neat, passing game with a lot movement coming through the midfield.

With his individual performance, the midfielder saved Gago from the ridicule of losing his first competitive game. Gago is under a lot of pressure to lead the team to success after two seasons under Veljko Paunovic.

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Passing stats

Gutiérrez topped the stats ranking in the Liga MX after the first round of games. He was followed by Ecuadorian Jefferson Intriago who completed 80 successful passes, then Christian Rivera with 77. Not that their performances helped their respective teams - Mazatlán lost 0-1 to Atlético San Luis while Xolos suffered a 0-2 defeat to América.

Further down the ranking, Guido Pizarro from Tigres racked up 70 successful passes; he was followed by Omar Govea from Rayados with 65, Mazatlán’s Facundo Almada and Toluca’s Andrés Pereira both on 61, Chiquete Orozco (60), Carlos Rodríguez (60) and Jordan Silva (59).