Match recap: Club Tijuana 2, Chivas de Guadalajara 1

Match Recap

Xolos started the game out well, applying pressure early and looking to hit Chivas on the counter. Chivas would have the first good chance of the game in the seventh minute, when Javier “La Chofis” López hit a curling shot from the right side that hooked just outside of Gibran Lajud’s net.

Xolos would get a good opportunity of their own when in the 11th minute Erick “Cubo” Torres was hauled down from behind about 30 yards out. On the ensuing free kick, Luis Chávez rang his shot flush off of the post.

In the 20th minute, Chivas got a chance when Isaác Brizuela charged down the left flank, cut back toward center, and unleashed a blast that went just over Gibran Lajud’s net. In the 24th minute, Ángel Zaldívar hit a shot that went just wide of Lajud’s net. Chivas applied plenty of pressure, but Xolos defense was up for the task.

Xolos would have a good chance of their own when Ignacio Rivero had the ball squirt to his feet inside of the box, but Chivas goalkeeper Raúl Gudiño was up to the task.

Play stopped in the 33rd minute when Brizuela and Omar Mendoza got tangled up chasing a ball down the line and Brizuela went crashing through the end boards. Both men needed a moment but were otherwise able to continue on.

In the 38th minute Orbelín Pineda would fire a shot on net, however Lajud would make a fantastic diving save to stop. Xolos defense would limit the amount and quality of chances that Chivas would have in the first half.

In the second half, Xolos looked more organized going forward. In the 48th minute, Juan Martín Lucero had a diving header in the box that went into the side netting. Minutes later at the other end, Pineda would hit a shot through traffic that Lajud was able to stop easily.

Xolos would finally break through in the 54th minute off of a corner kick. The ball floated in to Cubo Torres, who headed the ball back across the box to an onrushing and undefended Lucero. Lucero’s header didn’t miss, and Xolos were able to take the lead.

It wouldn’t last though. In the 59th minute, Pineda would slip Josecarlos Van Rankin free into the box. Van Rankin immediately shot, and there wasn’t anything Lajud could do.

Xolos looked like they had an immediate answer when Cubo Torres got on the end of a cross and headed it in, but the goal was ruled offside and disallowed. A minute later, Lucero would go down just outside of the box, and the free kick was awarded. Gudiño was forced to make a fantastic diving save.

The blistering pace of the the first fifteen minutes of the second half proved unsustainable though, and the teams settled down into a bit of a more tranquil rhythm. That didn’t mean the scoring was finished though. Off of another corner kick, Lucero headed the ball up from the short side back across the goal mouth. An onrushing Ignacio Rivero was able to meet the ball and kick it past Gudiño to give Xolos the lead again.

Things would go from bad to worse for Chivas in the 79th minute when Michael Pérez would be shown a straight red card for a foul on Omar Mendoza. Down a man, Xolos was able to really slow the pace of the game down. Once that happened, it was all but over for the visitors. Chivas couldn’t pull out the equalizer, and Tijuana starts the season off with a win.

Lineups

Club Tijuana: Gibran Lajud; Luis Fuentes, Julián Velázquez, Juan Carlos Valenzuela, Omar Mendoza; Jesús Angulo (Rubio Rubin, 57’), Luis Chávez (Eryc Castillo, 85’), Diego Rodríguez, Ignacio Rivero; Juan Martín Lucero, Erick Torres (Diego González, 77’)

Chivas de Guadalajara: Raúl Gudiño; Edwin Hernández, Carlos Salcedo, Jair Pereira, Josecarlos Van Rankin; Isaác Brizuela, Michael Pérez, Orbelín Pineda, Javier López (José Godínez, 57’); Ángel Zaldívar (Ángel Sepúlveda, 85’), Alan Pulído (Hedgardo Marín, 82’)

Scoring: Club Tijuana - Juan Martín Lucero (54’), Ignacio Rivero (74’); Chivas de Guadalajara - Josecarlos Van Rankin (59’)

Disciplinary: Club Tijuana - Juan Martín Lucero (Yellow - 41’), Luis Fuentes (Yellow - 59’); Chivas de Guadalajara - Jair Pereira (Yellow - 43’), Michael Pérez (Red - 79’)

Match facts

Game: Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de Caliente vs. Club Deportivo Guadalajara S.A. de C.V.

Date: Saturday, July 21st

Time: 10:00 p.m. Eastern, 9:00 p.m. Central, 7:00 p.m. Pacific, 2:00 a.m. UTC

Venue: Estadio Caliente (Tijuana, B.C.)

Referees: REF: Jorge Antonio Pérez Durán, AR1: Alberto Morin Méndez, AR2: Jose Ibrahim Martinez Chavarria, 4TH: Leon Vicente Barajas Anzures

Television: United States - Fox Sports San Diego, FOX Deportes, Fox Sports Prime Ticket, Fox Sports 1, FOX Sports San Diego, FOX Sports Arizona; Mexico - FOX Play Latin America, Fox Sports 2 Cono Norte

Streaming: fuboTV (Free trial + monthly subscription), Sling TV (Free trial + monthly subscription), FOX Sports GO