Nightmare for Chivas as they scratch a point against 10-men Atletico San Luis

Chivas had a disappointing night yesterday when they only were able to rescue a 0-0 tie against Atletico San Luis, even with a man advantage from the 15th minute of the match on. The worse news for Chivas was the injury to Alexis Vega, who came out in the 48th minute after falling to the ground and clutching his knee. No word yet on the situation, but it would be a painful loss for Chivas if their best players goes down for significant time. Chivas will now travel for their home debut against Toluca while San Luis face a tough visit to face Monterrey.

Chivas had the first chance when a free kick taken by Alexis Vega went through a couple players before San Luis’ goalkeeper Marcelo Barovero made a great save. After a harsh foul, Jesus Sanchez went down. Juan Manuel Sanabria had already been shown a yellow, but no foul was given. The ref was called to VAR though, and after further review, he showed Sanabria a second yellow, leaving San Luis with 10 players on the field only 15 minutes in. Because of the play and the injury, Jesus Sanchez had to be subbed out for Alan Mozo. Isaac Brizuela then got the ball in the area, but his shot went wide. Later, a shot from Mozo forced Barovero to make a good save. The halftime whistle blew and although Chivas had the man advantage and total control of possession, they were barely creating any chances on offense.

The second half started with Chivas subbing out Pavel Perez and Isaac Brizuela for Alan Torres and Roberto Alvarado. San Luis subbed out Andres Iniestra for Jhon Murrillo. Three minutes into the half, Vega collapsed on the pitch, grabbing his knee in what looked to be a bad injury. He was taken out of the match crying because of the severity of the injury. All that having passed, Ronaldo Cisneros got the ball in the area and got off a shot that was saved by Barovero. Cisneros himself was subbed out for Jose Gonzalez while the other Cisneros, Carlos, came in for Vega, who was already getting medical treatment on the bench. San Luis subbed out Leo Bonatini for Vitinho. Vitinho would get off a great shot from outside the area that would go just wide. A cross into the area found Angel Zaldivar, but he failed to control the ball. There was a scramble in the area, but San Luis were able to clear the ball. Off the corner kick, the ball fell for an Alejandro Mayorga header past Barovero, but his goal was called off due to offside. It would be the last chance and Chivas were left with nothing more than a disappointing tie.

The result wasn’t a good one for Chivas, who gave fans a great surprise with their away victory against Monterrey last week. They had a man advantage and yet for all their possession, barely created any danger. But without a doubt, the worst news is the possible injury to Alexis Vega. The winger is not only their most talented player, but had already suffered a bad injury when he played in Toluca that caused him to miss 6 months. Without Vega, Chivas look doomed to having another disappointing season. They‘ll make their home debut next but will have a tough task against Toluca. Atletico San Luis got a good result after going down to 10 players so early. Even when they didn’t have a single shot on goal, they were able to rescue a point against a team coming in hot after their solid preseason and their away win against Monterrey. San Luis will now try to copy Chivas and get a positive result at Monterrey, in what will be one of their biggest challenges for sure.