Last night at the Azteca Stadium all of the virtues of Chivas’ game seemed to be on display. In certain parts of the game against Cruz Azul, Chivas took over possession, and were able to put Cruz Azul on their heels. They were even able to tie the game after a Flores strike in a broken play, off a corner that got past Jesus Corona. In the entire second half it could be argued that Chivas dominated the game, but when it was all set and done they lost.
The loss puts Chivas in a tough spot heading into the wild card round. They find themselves in the bottom half of the top 12 teams that make the playoffs. That means that they have to go play on the road regardless of what happens. They’ll either have to face Puebla or Leon in the winner take all round. What are the realistic expectations for Chivas heading into these playoffs?
If They Could Just Find An Offensive Presence
Angel Zaldivar, and Santiago Ormeño are just not it, up front for Chivas. Neither of the two was able to really take part in the game at all. Now, it must be said that Chivas can’t blame all of their offensive woes on the lack of a number 9 that’s truly a natural goalscorer. Last night Alexis Vega had a really tough time getting past Rodrigo Huescas. Alexis never looked comfortable in the game, he even put two corner kicks on the other end of the field literally throwing the goal scoring opportunity down the drain.
The team seemed to really miss Fernando “Nene” Beltran’s presence in the middle. He’s not great defensively, but he can provide a spark offensively from the midfield spot. Even though Flores found the back of the net, it was on a corner kick, not a regular play. Brizuela was actually the best Chivas player offensively last night. He got by Rivero on that right side of Chivas’ attack multiple times, but again neither Zaldivar nor Ormeño were able to get on the end of his crosses. Chivas only scored 19 goals throughout the regular season; that’s the second-worst total of the teams that made the playoffs. Stats don’t lie, they are just not good offensively.
They’re Sneaky Undisciplined Defensively
A lot has been made about Miguel Wacho Jimenez’s good season in goal for Chivas. He’s a decent middle of the pack goalkeeper in Liga MX all things considered. However, Chivas is actually not as solid defensively as Cadena maybe would like them to be. Particularly if they want to have a chance to do something in the playoffs. Their 17 goals conceded in the regular season make them the fourth-best defense in Liga MX.
The problem is they’ve made mistakes in key moments. The last minute Michael Estrada goal that lost them the game to Cruz Azul is a clear example of that. After dominating the game they leave the opposing team’s number 9 all alone in the box in the last minute of the contest. You just can’t do that, and expect to advance in the winner take all playoff format.
Will A Loss In The Wild Card Round Mean Cadena Will Get Sacked?
With how hard it’s been for Chivas to score goals it wouldn’t be odd if they find themselves out of the playoffs by the end of next weekend. If that happens head coach Ricardo Cadena could be on the chopping block. Letting go of Cadena could be a mistake, though. The team does a lot of things well, but they need to go out and find that missing offensive piece. Also, there are not a ton of options for Chivas to go after if Cadena is sacked. The problem is if he is bounced in the wild card round, and he doesn’t get sacked he’d be coming into next season with a lot of pressure. There are no positives for Cadena or Chivas in this scenario.
