Last night Cruz Azul faced Chivas Guadalajara at home in the second leg of the Liga MX championship quarterfinals. The first match had ended 0-0 and there was a great atmosphere at the Estadio Olimpico Universitario with at least as many Chivas as Cruz Azul fans in what turned out to be a great match, but which also included the usual suffering that Cruz Azul is so known for.
In fact, Cruz Azul was dreadful in the first half. After only 8 minutes poor marking following a corner kick gave Cade Cowell a chance he could not miss, and brought Chivas ahead. Only 6 minutes later the home team equalized by the Uruguayan striker Gabriel Fernandez in what was effectively their first attack. Despite this, Chivas continued a high pressure that made the Cruz Azul look shaky and full of mistakes, and Bryan Gonzalez brought Chivas ahead again following poor Cruz Azul defending.
There was not reason to be happy about Cruz Azul's first half, and while they came out with more pressure in the second half one still had the feeling that Chivas stood well as they pulled back. It was only in the 72nd minute, after steady Cruz Azul pressure, that Jeremy Marquez sneaked in the ball via the post and an equalizer that put Cruz Azul in the semifinals (because the team that ended higher in the league phase passes in case of a tie).
Cruz Azul is expert in suffering, and the following 20 minutes were suffering as Chivas put pressure on Cruz Azul. There were some close calls, but the event of the match came in the 86th minutes when Chivas was awarded a penalty.
The veteran ex-Manchester United player, ex-Real Madrid player, Javier Hernandez ("Chicharito") was selected to take the penalty that would put Chivas with one leg in the semifinals. But as happens to any player, and to the delight of the suffering Cruz Azul fans, Chicharito completely overshot the goal, instead sending the ball into the stars above Mexico City.
Chivas continued attacking as the match went into 7 minutes of painful extra time. But exactly in the 97th minute Cruz Azul caught Chivas off guard, and the experienced Mexican midfielder Carlos Rodriguez lobbed the ball over the Chivas goalie to give Cruz Azul the 3-2 victory.
The semifinals will be interesting. Monterrey eliminated America in an intense match and will be facing the defending champions of Toluca in one semifinal, while Cruz Azul will face another Monterrey team, namely the Tigres of UNAM. Tigres progressed after coming from a 0-3 defeat to Tijuana to win 5-0 at home.
Probably more suffering for Cruz Azul.
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