Tigres cannot take the victory at home in the first leg of the final
The Clausura 2023 is reaching its last stretch as Tigres hosted Guadalajara in the first leg of the final. It was a tense and disputed match that was defined by a gridlock that Chivas put on the field, which could not be opened by the home team.
Tigres started off the game playing better than Guadalajara, feeling better in the pitch and trying to reach the rival’s goal, albeit without much success. From the beginning, Guadalajara defended with much order and focus, and paid little mind to their attack.
The first real sign of danger came at the 19’ when Julian Quiñones served to Fernando Gorriaran on the left, and the Uruguayan crossed. The ball was deflected by Antonio Briseno but it ended on his own cross post, the rebound fell on Andre Pierre Gignac, who found himself in front of the goal with the chance of scoring, but inexplicably, sent his shot to the side. The Frenchman saw one of his worst performances since he arrived to the Liga MX, and was sent off at the 68′.
Almost at the end of the first half, the first real chance of danger would come for Guadalajara. Nahuel Guzman passed to Fernando Gorriaran from a goal kick, and Gorriaran wanted to pass to Diego Reyes, but lost the ball just outside the box to Isaac ‘Conejito’ Brizuela. ‘Conejito’ shot without hesitation, but the ball went just a few inches above the post.
The second half didn’t bring many more clear chances
Just as in the first half, Tigres were the ones looking to open the score. At the 67’, Paunovic put in Ronaldo Cisneros for Vega and Pavel Perez for Brizuela. This yielded immediate results, because before Ronaldo Cisneros played as a striker, Guadalajara’s attack felt truncated. This fast change would prove rather ephemeral as Cisneros would not have much more activity past his first minutes of play. He felL victim of the decisively defensive strategy that Paunovic proposed.
The next big chance for Tigres would come at the 62’ when an impressive play through the middle between Cordova, Gignac and Quiñones was not finished by Juan Pablo Vigon, who sent the ball way above the goal. At the 78’ the only shot on target for Tigres would come after a ball bounced to Carioca following a free kick, and the Brazilian shot an incredible volley sending the ball mere centimeters off the goal.
The VAR disappeared
About ten minutes before stopping time, Cordova got the ball just outside the box coming in from the left and received a serious foul by Alejandro Mayorga. The referee limited himself, and only gave the Chivas player a yellow card, but TV replays would show that the tackle was a serious foul, that if properly checked by the VAR, would have warranted a red card. This was in line with a tendency of referee Fernando Guerrero to benefit Guadalajara with his decision. He didn’t overtly benefited Chivas, but seemed to be more lenient with them, and this non-issued red card was the clearest example.
The game ended without much excitement, but this lack of emotions only benefits Chivas, who are sure to play very differently in Guadalajara.
Published: May 25th, 2023
Updated: May 29th, 2023
