Cruz Azul Vs. Chivas Guadalajara: Ten Man Cruz Azul Gut Out Draw

Cruz Azul had a man sent off in the first half, gave up a goal shortly after that red card, and were generally the inferior side for all 90 minutes. Apparently, Emmanuel Villa didn’t get the memo, and as a result, the Blue Machine have earned a comeback 1-1 draw with ten men against Chivas Guadalajara, who will be more worried about the fortunes of other teams than their own play going into tonight’s late fixtures.

In the 81st minute of the game, Javier Aquino played a great through ball into the box for Emmanuel Villa, who calmly hit an impressive low finish past Luis Michel with his first touch, securing the draw for his team. As a result, neither Chivas or Cruz Azul is safe as far as Liguilla places go, and both will be forced to watch Monterrey and Santos tonight, hoping for dropped points. Thanks to the inability of both Chivas and Cruz Azul to secure all three points, the Liguilla race is wide open.

It just gets worse and worse for Cruz Azul. Once in a race for the top spot in the entire league with UNAM Pumas in Group 3, Cruz Azul are continuing their downward spiral towards missing Liguilla, though in this case, the referee is at least partially to blame. Still, they were the inferior team before they (possibly unfairly) went down a man, and they really have no one to blame but themselves for the massive hole that they find themselves in.

In the 40th minute, Horacio Cervantes was sent off for a last man challenge on Erick Torres. His “challenge” was grabbing the arm of Torres, and Cubo went down very easily. While Cervantes probably did commit a foul, Torres’s reaction (and the referee’s) was pretty unacceptable. It doesn’t matter now, though. Cruz Azul will have to finish the match with 10 men.

Cruz Azul have been playing with one central striker supported by Christian ‘Chaco’ Gimenez for most of the season, but today they have shifted back to the 4-4-2 they employed for most of last year, with Gimenez starting as a winger who will likely cut inside. Chivas appear to be matching them with a 4-4-2 of their own. Here are the lineups.

Cruz Azul lineup (4-4-2): Corona; Pinto, Cervantes, Ponce, Chavez; Villaluz, Palau, Torrado, Gimenez; Villa, Orozco

With a Liguilla spot on the line, the Mexican Primera matchup between Cruz Azul and Chivas Guadalajara is a massive one this Saturday night. Both teams are on the very fringes of Liguilla, and a loss would be seriously crippling for either team. One might think that sets up for a gentleman’s draw, but with all of Monterrey, Santos, and the entirety of Group 2 lingering closely behind, neither team can afford to drop points.

Chivas haven’t played well against Cruz Azul in recent tournaments, but as Tom Marshall from SB Nation’s Mexican football blog FMF State of Mind points out, the conditions seem ripe for a change in fortunes.