Chivas and Leon battle to a lackluster scoreless tie

Chivas and Leon both disappointed as they ended up tying 0-0 in their debuts of the Apertura 2020. Chivas came into the game with four missing players because of positive COVID-19 tests and suffered because of their absences. Leon was the better side, but a terrible display from Angel Mena ended costing them points. Chivas will now have to travel to Torreon to face Santos, while Leon will make their home debut against Monterrey.

With Chivas hosting but down because of the absent players, the game started and Leon was the first team to threaten with a long range shot from Luis Montes that forced Chivas’ keeper Jose Antonio Rodriguez to make a save. After a couple of minutes of very even play, Leon once again had another shot but Rodriguez handled it easily. Chivas finally had a chance when Jose Juan Macias won a ball in the area and passed it to Isaac Brizuela, whose shot went wide. The game continued with a very even match although Leon had slightly more possession. Leon came close when a great cross was cleared by a Chivas defender before it arrived to Leon’s Ismael Sosa in the area. Then a free kick from Montes also came very close to going in but it just went wide. The game was scoreless at halftime and with little emotion from either team.

The second half started with both teams hoping to improve. Chivas subbed out Brizuela for Cristian Calderon. After a couple of even minutes, Leon had the best chance in the game when Angel Mena got a ball alone in the area but his shot was awful and it went wide. After a couple of minutes, once again Leon took control of the match while Chivas sat back. Then again Leon wasted another great chance. A great run by Leon once again found a wide open Mena in the area, but once again he made a terrible shot and wasted a very easy chance. Later it was Montes who had a shot for Leon but Rodriguez got to it. Against the run of play, Calderon had a chance for Chivas when he got a rebound and took a shot that forced Leon’s keeper Rodolfo Cota to make a save. Leon later on had a great chance when Jean Meneses got the ball in the area, but a great dash from Jesus Sanchez sent the ball into a corner kick. Luis Montes made a great play in the area and got a great shot off that forced Rodriguez to make a save into another corner kick. Chivas had the best play off the game when a cross by Calderon was headed by Macias and hit the post. The ball almost went in after it bounced from the post into goalkeeper Cota, but luckily for him it stayed inside the field of play. Leon answered back with another terrible miss by Angel Mena. A great cross found him in the area but his volley went terribly wide.

Overall it ended being a disappointing game for both sides. Chivas missed not having Fernando Beltran, Uriel Antuna, Ronaldo Cisneros, and especially Alexis Vega because of the positive COVID-19 test results and because of that, they will not be coming in soon. Meanwhile Leon looked better but the terrible display from Mena cost really hurt. Leon will need for their Ecuadorean forward to wake up soon because they can’t afford displays like this, that already cost them against a Chivas team that was hurting because of missing players. Chivas will now have to travel to Torreon and face a tough Santos team that will also miss players because of injuries and COVID-19 results, while Leon will face a Monterrey team that should be a tougher challenge than Chivas.