Injury time goal saves Chivas from embarrassment against Querétaro

Chivas were minutes away from nationwide embarrassment until a late goal drew them even 1-1 against Querétaro. Gallos Blancos on the ther hand, came within minutes from getting their first away win in nearly three years after taking a lead off a terrible mistake by Chivas’ keeper Jiménez, but once again couldn’t hold on.

The main news at kickoff was Chivas starting Daniel Rios over Ronaldo Cisneros. Chivas dominated possession throughout the first half, but weren’t creating any danger as Queretaro defended themselves well. The home side had a few opportunities, but bad decisions in the final thrid gave the ball away. The halftime whistle blew and the crowd booed as Chivas went scoreless at home against one of the worst teams in Mexico.

Neither team made changes to start the second half despite going unnoticed in the first. A cross into the area from Querétaro almost crossed into the net after Chivas goalkeeper, Miguel Jimenez failed to get to it, but Hiram Mier headed the ball away before a Gallos attacker could get to the tap in. A great cross into the area found a wide open Angel Sepulveda, but his volley went well wide as he missed a great chance. Sepulveda would injure himself and be subbed out for José Zuñiga. Off an uneventless free kick taken by Pablo Barrera, keeper Jimenez botched the easy catch, resulting in the ball bouncing off the crossbar and appearing to go over the goalline, but the ref didn’t call the goal. Replays showed that the ball had crossed the line after all, and after going to VAR, the ref gave the goal and Querétaro took the surprising 1-0 lead. The visitors had the lead and looked to be minutes away from their first away win since February 2020. Off a corner kick, Ronaldo Cisneros would rise up to get a header, but Alcala would get off a good save. In injury time, off another Chivas corner, Alejandro Mayorga was left completely open to get a close range header past Alcala for the 1-1 equalizer. Although a bad result for Chivas, it could’ve been much, much worse.

In the end, Chivas might’ve even gotten lucky, as Querétaro had several chances to put the game away. The fact is that the tie was deserved and it wasn’t a match where Chivas dominated as much as expected. To make things worse, they will be heavy underdogs against Pachuca away while fans are starting to get restless with their side’s poor home performances. Querétaro came close to end their winless streak away an acceptable game overall, although the tie is a fair result. They’ll now have a tough match at home against a León side struggling with their results, but have been unlucky at times and should be favored against Gallos, even if they are on the road.