Chivas wastes great opportunity in dreadful scoreless tie with Monterrey

Chivas got an away tie against Monterrey in a very poorly played game that finished 0-0. It might look like a great result for Chivas, but the reality was that they got a huge benefit when Monterrey went down to 10 players after a red card and still failed to take advantage. Coach Victor Manuel Vucetich was seemingly looking out more for the team not to get scored on and possibly losing the game. Chivas will now have a tough home return against Necaxa, where once again they will have a lot of pressure on them, while Monterrey will have a tough trip away to face Tijuana.

The first half started with Chivas coming into this important match with Uriel Antuna on the bench and Isaac Brizuela getting the start. They also had various other changes like Raul Gudiño being the starting goalkeeper instead of Jose Antonio Rodriguez, as well as Alejandro Mayorga and Fernando Beltran also being benched. Monterrey meanwhile had the return of Duvan Vergara to the starting lineup. To the surprise of many the match started very even, with Chivas having more possession than expected. It took 20 minutes for the first good opportunity to come, and it was for Monterrey when Rogelio Funes Mori got the ball in the area, but his shot was deflected by a defender. There was a scary moment when Luis Olivas crashed into the head of Jesus Molina, which forced the concussion protocol to start, but he remained in the match. Later Funes Mori wasted a good opportunity when he failed to connect his volley to a good cross from Stefan Medina. Monterrey started to control possession as Chivas sat back, something that was expected. Chivas had their first opportunity when Alexis Vega got a shot from outside the area, but it went just wide. Later a mistake by Monterrey gave the ball to Chivas, and Eduardo Torres got off a shot that forced Monterrey’s goalkeeper Esteban Andrada to make a save. Monterrey had a good opportunity with the ball in the area, but Maxi Meza crashed the ball into a Chivas defender, making the worst of all the possible decisions. The halftime whistle blew and to the surprise of many, the game remained scoreless.

The second half started with Monterrey looking for the win, while Chivas tried to not get scored on and maybe get a counter goal. The early minutes of the half showed that the pattern was going to continue. Then in an incredible play, Cesar Montes got into a verbal altercation after a foul with the referee and got a straight red card. It was an incredible play that would change the match completely. The card forced Monterrey to sub out Duvan Vergara for Edson Gutierrez. Chivas immediately took advantage of being up a player and started to get possession. Jesus Ricardo Angulo got the ball in the area and got off a left footed shot that forced Andrada to make a save. Chivas then subbed out Angel Zaldivar and Miguel Angel Ponce for Jesus Godinez and Alejandro Mayorga. Later after a combination play, Angulo got another left footed shot that was saved by Andrada. Chivas subbed out Jesus Ricardo Angulo (a strange decisison), Jesus Molina, and Isaac Brizuela for Carlos Cisneros, Fernando Beltran, and Uriel Antuna. Monterrey meanwhile subbed out Alfonso Gonzalez for Joel Campbell. Later on Rogelio Funes Mori and Carlos Rodriguez was subbed out for Jose Alvarado and Matias Kranevitter. Chivas continued to have more possession but seemed to be wasting a great opportunity with Monterrey down to 10 players, and yet they were barely going on the offense even with up a player. After a counter Mayorga decided to get off a left footed shot that went well wide. It was the last opportunity and the game ended with a very disappointing scoreless tie.

With a lot of pressure from fans Chivas needed to get a result, and yet the way they underachieved would seem that the criticisms will not stop. Chivas looked to be overly defensive from the start which was understandable, but once they were up a player they barely switched toward being more offensive. Chivas only had two great opportunities, which both came off left footed shots from Jesus Ricardo Angulo. Then in another of the strange moves by Vucetich, he subbed out Angulo for Cisneros and once again the substitution ended up damaging Chivas on offense. Chivas will now have time to face prepare for their next home match, another important game where they will face the improving Necaxa. Monterrey also wasted a great opportunity, although getting a tie might be a better result than expected. Monterrey had the match in control and looked like they were poised for a win, but Cesar Montes’ incredible decision to get into a screaming match with a referee terribly hampered the team and put an end to their offensive domination. Yet Monterrey was able to get a tie and will now have a tough trip to Tijuana, where once again they will need to win over fans after their streak of good results and good play ended on Saturday. It seems both teams came out of this match a little poorer in their fans eyes, and will need to improve a lot next week to gain back their trust.