Partidazo! Atlas and Chivas tie in a wonderful edition of the Clasico Tapatio

One of the best Clasico Tapatios in recent memory happened Saturday night as Atlas and Chivas battled to a 3-3 tie, a match which had everything. A number of goalkeeper mistakes turned into great saves in the second half, as it was all out attacking football with both teams battling for the city crown. Chivas will now go back to their home stadium to face Necaxa, while Atlas will travel north to have their first leg matchup in the Concacaf Champions League against the Philadelphia Union before traveling to face FC Juarez.

The first half started with Chivas having Alexis Vega from the start but missing suspended Victor Guzman. Less than a minute in Chivas had the first chance when Cristian Calderon got the ball in the area, but his left footed shot went wide. Three minutes later, Roberto Alvarado made a great run and got into the area, where he got off a left footed shot past Atlas’ goalkeeper Camilo Vargas for a great goal to take the 1-0 lead. Then a shot from Vega from outside the area was saved by Vargas. A header from Julio Furch went just wide. Diego Barbosa then got to the area and got off a left footed shot that forced a save from Chivas’ goalkeeper Miguel Jimenez. Both teams were battling and trading possession in a lively match. After making a good move, Carlos Cisneros got off a great left footed shot from outside the area that went right past Vargas for the goal and gave Chivas the 2-0 lead. Replays showed it was a good shot but Vargas could’ve done even better with it. Atlas however responded quickly with a cross into the area that had Jimenez going for the ball, but Furch won it and left it right in the path of Julian Quiñones, who then was able to shoot it into the empty net and score the easy goal, cutting the lead to 2-1. Jimenez then almost made a another mistake by going out of the area, but Brian Lozano’s cross was cleared by a Chivas’ defender before another attempt at the empty net could occur. Vega then got the ball in the area and hit a right footed shot, but this time Vargas made a good save. In stoppage time, Atlas got a corner kick where the cross had Ozziel Herrera rise up and get off a great header that went past Jimenez for the goal. Atlas had gotten the 2-2 tie just seconds before the end of the first half.

The second half started with Vargas getting a yellow card as he made marks in the area, which isn’t allowed. Chivas had a chance when a pass into the area fell to Carlos Cisneros, but his shot was blocked by Atlas. A cross into the area was deflected by an Atlas defender into the path of Alexis Vega, who got off a strong right footed shot past Vargas to give Chivas the 3-2 lead. Atlas scored a minute later after a shot by Furch was blocked by Jimenez but left there right for Julian Quiñones to score it into the empty net, but it was ruled to be offside. After a VAR review, the goal was given and the match was tied at 3-3. A long ball into the area found Herrera, but his shot was blocked by Jimenez. Atlas subbed out Alejandro Gomez for Edgar Zaldivar, while Chivas subbed out Ronaldo Cisneros for Daniel Rios. A long range shot from Vega forced Vargas to make a good save. After a good pass from Herrera, Furch got a good low shot in the area but this time Jimenez came up with a big save. Atlas subbed out Ozziel Herrera for Mauro Manotas. A shot from outside the area from Calderon forced Vargas to make a good save. Chivas then subbed out Carlos Cisneros for Antonio Briseño. After a scramble in the area, Quiñones got a low shot that Jimenez made a great save on. Atlas subbed out Julio Furch and Diego Barbosa for Christopher Trejo and Javier Abella. Off of a free kick, Vega got off a great shot but Vargas came up with a wonderful save. Chivas subbed out an injured Fernando Beltran as well as Roberto Alvarado and Cristian Calderon for Ruben Gonzalez, Pavel Perez, and Alejandro Mayorga. There were so many incidents that the referee gave ten minutes of stoppage time. After a good move from Eduardo Torres, he got off a good shot that Vargas saved. A free kick from Vega would end up with a good shot that Vargas also made a good save on. In the end, it would be the last as a great edition of the Clasico Tapatio ended in a tie.

It was a great match, one of the best Clasico Tapatios in years. Both teams came out on the offense and traded possession, and the tie was a fair result. Camilo Vargas came up big a couple of times and so did Jimenez, although his mistakes were key, especially on the first goal that gave Atlas’ life. Chivas sort of bounced back after the disappointment of losing the Superclasico, but they still would have liked a win. They are however favored to get one next week when they host struggling Necaxa. Atlas meanwhile will have a tough visit to the United States to continue their CONCACAF Champions League campaign against Philadelphia and then will have a tough visit to FC Juarez.