Chivas gets key away victory against Puebla

Chivas grabbed a very important win after they traveled to Puebla, defeating the hosts by a 2-0 score. Chivas bounced back after the disappointing result against Club America in a superclasico friendly played during the FIFA break at the Rose Bowl outside of Los Angeles, California. Chivas travels back to Guadalajara where they will face Tigres in Estadio Jalisco, as their home stadium will host a concert for the Weeknd. Puebla meanwhile will have a tough match as they travel to face improving Pachuca.

The first half started with Chivas having most of the starters from the friendly Superclasico in the starting 11. Less than a minute in, Gustavo Ferrareis got off a right footed shot that forced Chivas’ goalkeeper Miguel Jimenez to make a save. A cross into the area was just headed wide by Guillermo Martinez from close range. Because of an injury, Jesus Orozco had to be subbed out for Alejandro Mayorga. Another cross into the area was headed wide by Jimenez. After making a good move in the area, Isaac Brizuela got off a right footed shot that hit the post and went wide. Chivas then lost the ball and that allowed Puebla to have a great chance where Kevin Velasco got off a left footed shot that forced Jimenez to make a good save. After Chivas got the ball in the area, Brizuela tried to get off a cross that bounced off Pablo Gonzalez’s hand, and the referee gave Chivas a penalty kick. Roberto Alvarado stepped up to take the PK and scored on a great left footed shot past Puebla’s goalkeeper Jesus Rodriguez, giving Chivas the 1-0 lead. Martinez wasted a great chance when the ball reached him but his shot in the area was terrible, and it ended up bouncing off of a Puebla attacker. A cross in the area by Velasco was headed by Carlos Baltazar, but it was saved well by Jimenez. A left footed shot from Diego de Buen then hit the post. It was the last chance as Chivas held on to take the lead at halftime.

The second half started as Puebla hoped to keep up their improved play and get a tying goal. A cross into the area was headed wide by Martinez. From outside of the area, Pablo Gonzalez got off a left footed shot that went past Jimenez, but Martinez had jumped over the ball before that and the goal was ruled to be offside. Ferrareis then got off a right footed shot from outside the area that Jimenez made a great save on. A cross from Ferrareis went over Jimenez’s head, and it was just inches from going in. Puebla subbed out Carlos Baltazar for Martin Barragan, while Chivas subbed out Victor Guzman for Ronaldo Cisneros. Off of a corner kick, De Buen got off a header that went wide. After Puebla lost the ball, Chivas had a great chance but Ricardo Marin’s shot was blocked by a Puebla defender. After a cross into the area, Marin lowered the ball into the path of Ronaldo Cisneros, who got off a great half-bicycle kick shot that went past Rodriguez and into the net to give Chivas the 2-0 lead. It was a wonderful goal, easily the best of Cisneros’ career and seemed to be the goal that killed off the match in Chivas’ favor. Puebla subbed out Kevin Velasco and Pablo Gonzalez for Luis Garcia and Pablo Carabajal. After getting a pass in the area, Brizuela crashed into Rodriguez in a bad clash, but both players were able to remain in the game. Chivas subbed out Ricardo Marin and Isaac Brizuela for Erick Gutierrez (coming back from injury) and Yael Padilla. A great cross in the area found Barragan, but he couldn’t control the ball. While Puebla kept trying, in the end Chivas held on well and took home the three points.

After incredible struggles during the Apertura 2023 season that included losing the Superclasico badly and having three players suspended because of behavior issues, Chivas looks to have bounced back after a great victory in the Clasico Tapatio against Atlas by a 4-1 score. While Chivas seemed to have lost that momentum when they lost another superclasico against rivals Club America by a 2-0 score, this time it was in a friendly during the FIFA date. Although it was just a friendly, Chivas had come into a match with a full squad while America missed a number of players because of international call ups. Still Chivas now has bounced back with a key win against Puebla, which has them temporarily in fourth place. Chivas will have to continue facing tougher opposition like Tigres, where the match will not be played in their home stadium but their old home, Estadio Jalisco. On the other hand, Puebla suffered a bad loss in which although they had a lot of possession, they could barely threaten a Chivas team that lost one of their starting center backs because of injury. Puebla will have a tough next match against Pachuca.