Tigres and Chivas ready for the first leg of the final
After having served their archrivals, Monterrey and America, in the semifinals, Tigres and Chivas will face each other in the final of the Clausura 2023. This would be the second time these two teams play for the Liga MX title, following a well remembered final played in the Clausura 2017.
A game full of coincidences
The two finals share a number of similarities that almost make the whole thing spooky. Both teams left Atlas and Monterrey behind to play the final back in 2017, and they did so again this time around. In 2017 both matches against the city rivals were in the quarter finals while in 2023 Tigres won over Monterrey in the semis.
Another similarity is the dates, both first legs will have been played on exactly the same day, Thursday May 25, and Sunday May 28 for the second one. This curiosity is due to the fact that the calendar arrangement for the year 2017 is exactly the same as the one for the current year, that is to say, you can use a 2017 calendar this year without any issues.
Finally, the first leg will be in the city of Monterrey and the second one in Guadalajara. Unfortunately for Chivas, Luis Enrique Santander will not be the referee for either of the finals. Perhaps the most defining feature of the 2017 final was the fact that the referee did not call a penalty in favour of Tigres at the 92’ and Chivas ended up winning the game 4-3 on aggregate. The referees this time around will be Fernando Guerrero for the first leg and Cesar Ramos for the second one.
Chivas have the edge
Chivas come off as the favourites to take the title. Not only did they end up nine points ahead of Tigres in the regular season, they have shown more solidity in their playoff matches. Save the first match against Toluca, where Tigres destroyed them at home 4-1, Tigres have not been as strong as Guadalajara in the play-offs. Chivas convincingly defeated a feisty Atlas, whereas Tigres had to pray at Toluca to avoid a catastrophe and ended up losing 3-1 in the second leg of the quarter finals.
In the semifinals, Guadalajara was decisively better than Club America in three out of the four periods played in both legs while Tigres barely edged Monterrey in both games. In Tigres defense, they did face the strongest team of the regular season, Monterrey–who completed an impressive 40 point season–nevertheless they sent them on an early vacation.
Lastly, both teams have been able to get their best players in good form for the final, although Tigres may have the advantage here. Both Diego Lainez and Sebastian Cordova have shown substantial improvement over their slow start earlier in the tournament. Chivas have been more stable, playing well throughout most of the tournament, however, they were able to find an important striker in Ronaldo Cisneros against America.
All stats, coincidences and previous games will be put aside when Fernando Guerrero sets off the game, and we will know who gets closer to the Mexican football crown.
