Gago gets off to a flying start with Chivas

Fernando Gago’s Chivas were in action for the first time on Thursday and although it might only have been a preseason friendly, against a side from the Expansion League, the Argentine coach will be very happy with what he saw. At Akron stadium, his Guadalajara team beat Atlético La Paz 5-1.

The match was played in four halves of 30 minutes each, which have the new Rojiblanco coach the opportunity to watch all of his players. Right now, he is busy working hard to fine-tune what will be his starting XI. The Clausura 2024 kicks off next week and Chivas have just one more preparation match - on Saturday against Celaya.

Castillo debut

“Chivas looked comfortable on the ball, clearly dominating possession and generating a wealth of chances on goal. And on top of that, the game was a chance to give an opportunity to some of the younger players emerging from the youth ranks as well as recent signing José Castillo,” the club explained in a statement. The former Pachuca defender is the only reinforcement for the first team during the preseason.

Goals fly in for Gago’s Chivas

Víctor Guzmán opened the scoring with a free kick that the keeper just got a fingertip to but couldn’t stop from entering inside the post. Moments later, promising young star Gael García Bernal doubled the lead by getting on the end of a low cross by Ronaldo Cisneros, finishing off a wonderful move down the right side.

Erick Gutiérrez was next to get his name on the scoreboard. On the edge of the area, he controlled a loose ball then lashed it into the top corner - fantastic skill and finish from the midfielder. Chivas continued to apply pressure, and forced a stolen ball in the danger zone. It fell to Pavel Pérez who laid it up for Roberto Alvarado to rifle in the team’s fourth.

Atlético La Paz pulled a goal back through José Gurrola, who fired an angled shot past the keeper to make 4-1. There was just enough time for one more - Daniel Ríos surged forward down the left and squared to Roberto Alvarado, who timed his run to perfection to put the hosts 5-1 ahead which is how it finished on the whistle.

In his first game in charge of Chivas, coach Fernando Gago used a total of 29 players, giving him a chance to take notes on every member of the squad. He fielded separate starting line-ups with one taking to the pitch for the first two half-hour periods of the game then a completely new team for the remainder of the match.