Liguilla Clausura 2024: Guadalajara heads to Toluca with slim 1-0 advantage

Guadalajara struggled to create offense against Toluca, managing just one shot on goal all night. And that didn’t come until minute 86.

Fortunately for Chivas Nation, that one shot was an unmolested left-footed volley that Víctor Guzmán buried into the netting behind Tiago Volpi.

With that, “El Rebaño Sagrado” walked away from the first leg of their Liga MX quarterfinal series with a 1-0 advantage over the higher-seeded Diablos Rojos.

The second leg of the series is set for Saturday at the Estadio Nemesio Diéz where “Los Choriceros” had a league-best 7-0-1 record.

Diablos Rojos throw change-up at Chivas

No. 3 seeded Toluca arrived as the top-scoring team in Liga MX (38 goals scored in 17 games) and most pundits foresaw a high-scoring game at Estadio Akron similar to the 3-2 thriller (also won by Guadalajara) back on Matchday 4.

Instead, Diablos Rojos coach Renato Paiva used a double-pivot and Toluca displayed remarkable tactical discipline on defense.

Chivas playmaker Roberto Alvarado found little room to operate and with his contributions limited, Guadalajara lacked creativity in their offensive third.

The 6th-seeded Chivas patiently probed for holes in the Toluca lines, but could not find good looks at goal.

For its part, Toluca relied on counterattacks with former Guadalajara star Alexis Vega – booed lustily throughout the match – leading the charge.

In minute 60, Vega raced out on a fast break, dribbled past two defenders near midfield, then led Juan P. Rodríguez into the box but a hustling José Castillo was able to chase down the Diablos Rojos forward and snuff his shot with a sliding tackle.

In minute 71, Guadalajara thought it had taken a lead, but VAR properly alerted ref Oscar Mejía to a handball committed by Pavel Pérez and the goal was annulled.

With 5 minutes remaining in regulation, Alvarado came up with a loose ball deep on the right side after a Toluca turnover and he won a corner.

Alvarado sailed the ensuing corner kick over the scrum but sub Cade Cowell chased the ball down before it went out of bounds and recentered.

Volpi got a hand on Cowell's long cross, but only deflected it to Alvarado on the back side. “Piojo” popped a header into the path of the onrushing Guzmán and his one-timer zipped past the Toluca goalie.

History in Liga MX playoffs

Toluca has gotten the better of Guadalajara in eight previous postseason meetings.

The Diablos Rojos have eliminated the Chivas five times, getting knocked out by their Liga MX counterparts on just three occasions.

The most recent meeting between these two storied franchises came back in the Clausura 2017 semifinals with "The Sacred Flock" advancing and claiming its 12th Liga MX title (second-best in leage history).

Toluca is third-best in Liga MX history with 10 Liga MX trophies. Both clubs trail top-seeded América and the defending champs have 14 Liga MX titles.