Player Ratings: Chivas vs. Querétaro, Apertura 2016

Chivas and Querétaro played to a 0-0 draw in a drenched Estadio Omnilife on Saturday night in the fourth match date of the 2016 Apertura.

El Rebaño generated opportunities early on with various shots including a Javier “La Chofis” López effort in the 17th minute that forced a save from Querétaro goalkeeper Tiago Volpi. It seemed as though López was going to be the catalyst for Chivas on the night that manager Matías Almeyda gave him the nod to start at the ten spot.

Equally, if not more, impressive was Chivas’ defensive composition throughout the match. Carlos Salcido and José Juan “Gallito” Vázquez were key in maintaining and regaining possession for Almeyda’s squad. Edwin Hernández locked down the flank while veering occasionally into the interior of the field to join the battle for possession. This was a solid effort that hardly saw Chivas put into any situations where their defense would have to make a last second save.

Some occasions saw Chivas seemingly gel on an offensive front: Ángel Zaldívar and Orbelín Pineda produced consecutive instances of danger in the 36th and 37th minutes, respectively. Unfortunately, Zaldívar squandered the clearest opportunity of the night for both sides in the 51st minute when he prematurely tapped a ball that took a harsh bounce off Volpi wide of the far post.

Among other underlying narratives throughout this match was the benching of Carlos Peña, who was brought on in the 59th minute for Nestor Calderón. “Gullit” was unable to make a significant impact on the game. This was the case for the rest of Chivas’ substitutes, who happened to be products of their youth system due to their roster’s Mexican-born exclusivity and absences of players participating in the Olympics—Carlos Salcedo and Michael Pérez.

Almeyda’s men will have to wait until next Sunday, August 14th, against Santos Laguna in order to attempt to right the ship for the 2016 Apertura.

Rodolfo Cota: 7

Carlos Salcido: 7

Jair Pereira: 7

Edwin Hernández: 7

Jesús Sánchez: 6.5

Javier López: 7.5

José Vázquez: 7.5

Orbelín Pineda: 7

Ángel Zaldívar: 4

Nestor Calderón: 6.5

Isaác Brizuela: 5.5

Substitutes:

Carlos Peña: 5.5

Alejandro Zendejas: 6

Edson Torres: 6