If they are to reach the Clausura 2023 final at Club América’s expense, Chivas Guadalajara must overcome a first-leg deficit—a feat they have achieved against their arch-rivals just once in the last 53 years.
And Sunday night, Chivas made a shocking comeback as they won by a two goal margin. They beat their rivals, Cub América, 3-1 on Sunday at the Azteca stadium and will move on to the 2023 Clausura Grand Final. They will now be facing Tigres UANL in the two legged final on Thursday, May 25.
This was a tremendous feat, especially because the only time that Chivas staged a second-leg comeback against América was in the 1982/83 campaign since the Liga MX added postseason playoffs to its league format.
In the semi-finals 40 years ago, Chivas were beaten 2-1 in the first leg in Guadalajara, before turning the tie around with a 3-0 win in a fiery clash at the Azteca. Sammy Rivas scored a brace for Los Rojiblancos, either side of a goal by Demetrio Madero, in a game that witnessed more than one mass brawl.
That victory is one of just five occasions since 1970 that Chivas have beaten América by two or more goals away from home at any stage of the league campaign. C.D. Guadalajara also managed to do so in the Invierno 2000 regular season, when they won 3-0; in the Apertura 2011 regular season (3-1); in the Apertura 2012 regular season (3-1); and the Apertura 2016 regular season (3-0).
In Sunday’s match, the home team will have a full squad and only Álvaro Fidalgo, who had not recovered from a slight injury until the first leg of the semifinal, is in doubt. Chivas, on the other hand, only has the absence of José Juan Macías, who was absent for the entire Clausura 2023 due to a cruciate ligament injury.
At the post-match conference in the second leg of the semi-final, Fernando Ortiz commented: “I am grateful to be able to coach these players, they are the protagonists and we are one step away from our goal. We played the first 90 minutes with a rival that deserves respect, the second leg will be similar and we will want to go through. With the experience we had with San Luis, we have to see that you don’t win with the shirt, we have to be focused for the entire 90 minutes”, he pointed out.
Meanwhile, at another press conference, Veljko Paunović, coach of Guadalajara, expressed: “I want winning people, whoever gets on the plane with me will give everything, we all need to go, including the fans, the Rebaño is a believer, and we will give it our all. The second issue is belief and faith, I believe that we can beat anyone, we have already beaten anyone, we still have a chance and with that purpose we will go to the capital to win. We have been playing without a center forward for several match days and part of the tournament, we have been able to win, and we have come this far, I don’t think it’s crazy, however, I understand, and we have to look for solutions.”
LINEUPS
Chivas: Malagón, Layún, Fuentes, Cáceres, Reyes, Fidalgo, Valdés, Zendejas, Sánchez, Rodríguez y Martín
America: Malagón, Layún, Fuentes, Cáceres, Reyes, Fidalgo, Valdés, Zendejas, Sánchez, Rodríguez y Martín
GOAL 1 – Chivas
Scored by Ronaldo Cisneros.
GOAL 1 – America
Scored by Valdés.
GOAL 2 – Chivas
Scored by Alan Mozo.
GOAL 3 – Chivas
Scored by Chiquete Orozco.
