Chivas grab victory, to sour the return of Fernando Gago to Guadalajara

Chivas got a very important win when they defeated Necaxa by a 3-1 score. The match had grabbed headlines as the return of Necaxa’s coach to Guadalajara after leaving his spot as Chivas’ coach to return to Argentina and coach Boca Juniors. The match was close than the score suggest but Chivas was the better team and got a deserved victory. Chivas ends their streak of home games as they travel to face off against Puebla while Necaxa remains in Guadalajara for their weekend match against Atlas.

The 1st half started with the return of Richard Ledezma to the starting lineup and with neither Javier Hernandez or Roberto Alvarado in the bench because of injuries. After receiving the ball in the area, Miguel Gomez got off a right footed shot that went wide. A great cross from Efrain Alvarez was volleyed by Ledezma but it hit the post and went right to Necaxa’s goalkeeper, Ezequiel Unsain. A back pass from Luis Romo was missed by Chivas’ goalkeeper, Raul Rangel and it almost went in for an own goal but it went just wide. After Armando Gonzalez got into the area, he got off a left footed shot that went just wide. A shot from outside the area from Ledezma was saved by Unsain and the ball fell to Alvarez, who took too long to get off a shot and went he did, Unsain made a brilliant save from close range to block his shot. Ledezma was able to get to a long ball and then get off a cross into the area where a wide open Armando Gonzalez got off a left footed shot from close range past Unsain to score and give Chivas the 1-0 lead. Ricardo Monreal got past two defender in the area and got off a close range shot that Rangel blocked. Jose Rodriguez got off a left footed shot that was deflected and forced Rangel to make a save. After a great pass into the area from Ledezma, Santiago Sandoval got into the area and got off a left footed shot past Unsain and into the net to score and give Chivas the 2-0 lead. The 1st half ended with Chivas being the better team and taking a deserved lead.

The 2nd half started with Necaxa subbing out Ricardo Monreal for Johan Rojas. A cross into the area reached Tomas Badaloni, who failed to connect with his volley and allowed Chivas’ defense to clear the ball. Off the corner kick, Agustin Oliveros would get off a header that Rangel had misjudged but luckily for the Chivas’ goalkeeper, it went wide. After getting the ball and going into the area, Cristian Calderon would lob the ball over a defender and get off a right footed shot that was deflected past Rangel to score and place the match at 2-1. Chivas subbed out Ricard Ledezma for Miguel Tapias in a defensive move.

A right footed shot from Pavel Perez would go just wide. Chivas subbed out Efrain Alvarez for Cade Cowell. A shot from outside the area from Rojas would force Rangel to make a save. A left footed shot from Kevin Rosero was deflected wide. Necaxa subbed out Pavel Perez for Raul Sanchez. Necaxa now was dominating the match as Chivas sat back. Chivas subbed out Armando Gonzalez, Omar Govea and Diego Campillo for Teun Wilke, Gilberto Sepulveda and Samir Inda. Necaxa subbed out for Cristian Calderon and Diego de Buen for Rogelio Cortez and Franco Rossano. A cross into the area from Rossano was missed by everyone but came close to going in. Off a counter, the ball was left for Samir Inda, who got a marvelous left footed shot from outside the area that went past Unsain and into the net to score and give Chivas the 3-1 lead.

Chivas got a very important win for their 2025 Apertura. Not only are the 3 points important but beating a Fernando Gago team gives the fans a boost after their disappointing loss against Toluca. Fans had been very displeased with Gago after he “dumped” the team in order to join Boca Juniors, where he would fail badly. His return to Guadalajara was as expected with him getting constantly booed every time he was shown on the screen. Chivas will now have a very important away match against struggling Puebla, where they will need to get another victory to climb to the Liguilla zone. Necaxa will remain in Guadalajara where they will face off against the other team in the city, Club Atlas in a match that shouldn’t be as tough as this one.