If you just saw the first 20 minutes of the game between Chivas and Tigres Tuesday night, then you checked the final score hours later you wouldn’t believe it. The game ended in a 4-1 Tigres rout of Chivas. Any time that high profile teams in Liga MX get beat that badly it usually shakes things up within that club. For reference see Cruz Azul after the most recent loss to Club America. Now, Chivas’ loss yesterday was certainly not as bad, but still with the playoffs so close at hand, and the team seemingly coming in hot before this result, this is the last thing that you want.
A lot of times when analyzing a game we want to come up with situations or people that can be blamed for the loss. More often than not, it’s the manager who gets most of the blame for the loss. This time around that may not be the case at all. Cadena’s team showed up to the game with a well-thought-out plan, and they gave Tigres a run for their money in the first 20 minutes. If it wasn’t for Tigres goalkeeper Nahuel Guzman Chivas could’ve easily been up 2 or 3-0 within the first twenty minutes. It all went downhill from there, and we want to know why!
Wacho Jimenez Was A Reason For The Demise
It’s not that we want to kick a man when he’s down, but you just can’t escape the obvious. Wacho Jimenez is not able to react to an awkward bounce on the Juan Pablo Vigon shot that found the back of the net for the first goal of the game. Jimenez doesn’t have twitchy hands like Acevedo or Ochoa have that allow them to react very quickly. Jimenez actually has kind of stiff hands, and that played against him twice yesterday. In another goal he gives up a second chance opportunity that is converted for the 3-0 scoreline at the time. You could tell his confidence level dipped after conceding the first goal. Jimenez has had a great year, but maybe he was playing at a level that was not realistic for him. There’s a reason why he couldn’t take the starting job at Chivas until he was 31.
The Lack Of Firepower Offensively
Of course the lack of firepower offensively didn’t directly correlate to the 4 goals against. Just to be perfectly clear we’re not saying Santiago Ormeño was widely responsible for the loss at all. The thing is, the team played extremely well for 20 minutes. If any of those shots find the back of the net it’s a different ball game. You can get unlucky sometimes, but this is a trend for Chivas. They can dominate games for minutes on end, but still lose because they can’t score goals in key moments. This is an issue that’s perhaps more concerning than trying to figure out why you conceded 4 goals on Tuesday.
Too Many Playmakers On The Squad
This reason may very well be a controversial one. There’s an argument to be made though that there are too many playmakers on the field for Chivas at any given time. It’s great when you have the ball, and you’re on the opponent’s side of the field. Time and time again though, those same guys like Beltran, Flores, and even Orozco, and Mozo who most people praise for their offensive awareness don’t get back on defense in time when the other team takes the ball away. Chivas was like a tired boxer who is more talented than the opponent, but because they tired themselves out offensively they got knocked out when they didn’t keep their hands up defensively. If the other team’s central midfield player is taking a long outside shot on your goal it’s probably because your guys at the same spot aren’t closing in on him defensively. That’s a big issue that Chivas needs to look into moving forward.
