Cruz Azul and Chivas battled to an exciting 2-2 tie. The tie is a great result for Chivas, who only need a tie in the return leg to go thru to the Semifinals. Chivas started well but Cruz Azul evened things out, although it was not enough for a win. Chivas will host Cruz Azul on Saturday. The match was the last played in Estadio Banorte before the World Cup final.
The 1st half started with Chivas coming out with a offensive linuep, including both Angel Sepulveda and Ricardo Marin from the start. Off a counter, Jose Paradela got off a left footed shot that was almost deflected in. A cross into the area was headed wide from close range by Christian Ebere. Richard Ledezma had the ball in the area and got off a right footed shot that hit the post. Sepulveda got the ball in the area but his right footed shot went wide. Agustin Palavecino got off a right footed shot from outside the area that forced a save from Chivas’ goalkeeper, Oscar Whalley. A shot from outside the area by Santiago Sandoval was easily saved by Cruz Azul’s goalkeeper, Kevin Mier. A right footed shot from Marin was badly handled by Mier, who left the ball there for Santiago Sandoval to get to it and get off a shot into the empty net to score and give Chivas the 1-0 lead. Efrain Alvarez got off a good left footed shot that would go just wide. A cross into the area found a wide open Bryan Alonso Gonzalez but his shot was cleared by a defender. Off a counter, Carlos Rodriguez got into the area and got off a great lobbed shot over Whalley to score and tie the match at 1-1. A volley inside the area by Willer Ditta would go just wide. A cross into the area was headed wide by Ebere. The halftime whistle blew as a good first 45 minutes came to an end.
The 2nd half started with Chivas subbing out Efrain Alvarez for Miguel Gomez. A great cross into the area from Gomez would be headed from close range by Angel Sepulveda and it went past Mier to score and give Chivas the 2-1 lead. Replays showed that the ball hit the post and bounced off the arm’s of Mier although for a possible own goal. After Ebere was brought down on a foul by Alonso Gonzalez, a free kick was given but after going to VAR, it was ruled to be a Penalty Kick, although the foul itself was doubtful. Christian Ebere took the PK and his right footed shot went past Whalley to score and tie the match at 2-2. Carlos Rotondi got into the area but his left footed shot would go wide. From outside the area, Gomez got off a right footed shot that went wide. Cruz Azul subbed out Omar Campos for Luka Romero. Chivas subbed out Ricardo Marin for Sergio Aguayo. A right footed shot from Rotondi was almost deflected into the net by Jose Castillo. Cruz Azul subbed out Jose Paradela for Andres Montaño. Chivas subbed out Santiago Sandoval and Jose Castillo for Yael Padilla and Gilberto Sepulveda. From way outside the area, Ditta got off a right footed shot that went just wide. A strong left footed shot from Aguayo would force Mier to make a save and although he would once again drop the ball, he got to it before Gomez. Chivas subbed out an injured Richard Ledezma for Mickey Tapias. Cruz Azul subbed out Amaury Garcia, Agustin Palavecino and Christian Ebere for Ivan Silva, Ariel Castro and Mateo Levy. A cross into the area would be volleyed wide by Aguayo.The match would end as Chivas took a very important result back home as they searched for a final.
Chivas got a very important tie against a Cruz Azul side that came in slightly favored to get a result at home. Cruz Azul came into the match with two clear victories over Atlas while Chivas struggled mightily in the first leg of their matchup against Tigres in the Quarterfinals before coming back to get the 2-0 victory they needed. Cruz Azul now needs to get a victory away in Guadalajara, as a tie will give Chivas the ticket to the final. Chivas won’t have an easy task, especially compared to their return leg against Tigres, where the Monterrey side incredibly displayed a poor form. Still Chivas could counter well if or when Cruz Azul needs to get that goal to get the victory.