Chivas left Torreon’s Estadio Corona victorious with a 1-0 win over Santos Laguna on Sunday evening in the fifth match date of the 2016 Apertura.
Matías Almeyda didn’t have to wait long for his offense to generate results as youngster Ángel Zaldívar thumped in a shot from outside the box that clanged off the far right post into the back of the net in the 17th minute. After his gaffe in last week’s draw against Querétaro, scoring in such fashion must have been a moment of sweet redemption for Zaldívar.
Throughout the game, Santos pressured Chivas in pursuit of a crucial mistake to take advantage of. They nearly capitalized in the first half when Carlos Salcedo’s pass bounced into a Santos attacker. The play would’ve resulted in Santos tying the score, but goalkeeper Rodolfo Cota came out in time to force Martin Bravo to botch the opportunity.
The second half was tame save for two instances that saw Santos reduced to nine men by the end of the encounter. The first red came on a 70th minute counter in which Carlos Cisneros was body checked by Santos defender Néstor Araújo around midfield. Santos goalkeeper Agustín Marchesín earned the second red when he was trying to exit the box after making a save. Ángel Zaldívar pursued the goalkeeper and was fouled in the 95th minute, earning Chivas a penalty. Marco Bueno took and missed the penalty just wide of the right post to end the game.
While Chivas did gain personnel for the rest of the Apertura, the side may have also lost some with the injury to Carlos Salcido, who went out in the first half. It is unknown at the moment how serious his injury is, but it will definitely be something to keep an eye on. Almeyda had the full complement of his roster with his Olympians now returned from Rio, but with Salcedo and Bueno’s individual errors, their contributions will take some patience.
El Rebaño’s next clash is the Clásico Tapatío against Atlas in the Estadio Omnilife next Saturday, August 20th.
Rodolfo Cota: 7.5
Carlos Salcedo: 5.5
Jair Pereira: 6.5
Edwin Hernández: 7
Jesús Sánchez: 7
Javier López: 6.5
Carlos Salcido: 5
Orbelín Pineda: 6
Ángel Zaldívar: 7.5
Carlos Cisneros: 6.5
Isaác Brizuela: 5.5
Substitutes:
Michael Pérez: 6
Marco Bueno: 5.5
Carlos Peña: 5