LIGA MX
When was the last time Chivas won 30 points in Liga MX regular season?
In their Clausura 2023 clash with Cruz Azul this weekend, Chivas Guadalajara can end a long run without reaching the 30-point mark in a regular season.
Chivas Guadalajara are having a good Clausura 2023 tournament. With two matchdays to play in the regular season, Veljko Paunovic’s men sit fourth in the table, and are still in with a chance of finishing as high as second. On Saturday, Chivas face Cruz Azul at Estadio Akron - and, if they beat La Máquina, they’ll hit the 30-point mark for the first time in over a decade.
Level on points with Almeyda’s 2016 Chivas
Nobody considers Guadalajara to be anything other than one of Mexico’s biggest clubs, but their results in recent years have fallen short of that status. Having accrued 28 points so far in the Clausura 2023, Chivas have already registered their joint-best regular-season performance in the last 12 years, level with the points hauls that a side coached by Matiás Almeyda achieved in the Clausura and Apertura tournaments in 2016.
Last 30-point campaign saw Chivas top table
When was the last time that Chivas managed 30 points in a short tournament? To find the answer to that question, you have to go back to the Apertura 2011. In that championship, El Rebaño Sagrado won eight games, drew six and lost just three to end the league phase as Liga MX leaders.
However, Guadalajara then endured the crushing disappointment of elimination at the first hurdle in the playoffs, Los Rojiblancos suffering a 2-1 aggregate defeat to Querétaro in the quarter-finals.
Since then, Chivas’ regular-season points totals have generally seen them struggle to qualify for the playoffs. Indeed, since a preliminary postseason round was reintroduced in the Guardianes 2020 tournament, the 12-time Mexican champions have been unable to earn direct qualification for the quarter-finals by finishing in the top four. Now, they’re well placed to end that barren run.
