Five and counting! Chivas defeat Mazatlán and maintain a perfect start in the CL26 | OneFootball

Mazatlán, Sinaloa.– Guadalajara delivered a strong first half and then managed their advantage well after the break to secure their fifth straight win at the start of the Clausura 2026, defeating Mazatlán 1–2 on Friday night at Estadio El Kraken, in Matchday 8 action. The Liga MX lead belongs exclusively to Gabriel Milito’s Rebaño, with 15 points and a perfect record so far in the tournament.

From the opening minutes, the play tilted toward the Guadalajara side, looking to reflect their superiority over the bottom team in the standings on the scoreboard as quickly as possible. They did just that, capitalizing on two key plays generated through the Rojiblancos’ ability to combine and their constant off-the-ball movement.

The lead gave Chiverío plenty of room to maneuver, and they did not sit back, continuing to threaten the Sinaloan goal. Despite conceding a goal from an isolated action that gave the home side a morale boost, the Rebaño intelligently contained Mazatlán’s attacks.

With this winning momentum, Guadalajara will head into El Clásico de México, hosting América at Estadio AKRON next Saturday, February 14, for Matchday 9 of the CL26.

The goals

- 14’ Efraín Álvarez took a free kick from the right side outside the box; it deflected off the wall and slipped into the Cañoneros’ net.

- 28’ ‘Hormiga’ González converted the penalty awarded after a foul on Daniel Aguirre with a precise strike from the spot.

- Mazatlán pulled one back with a free kick taken by Edgar Bárcenas in the 55’, unstoppable for ‘Tala’ Rangel.

Chances created

- 19’ ‘Piojo’ broke into the box and fired a right-footed shot, but his effort went wide of the post.

- 38’ Luis Romo received the ball at the edge of the area and hit a low shot that went straight to the goalkeeper.

- 44’ Brian Gutiérrez appeared at the top of the box, received with his back to goal and turned quickly to shoot, but his effort sailed over the crossbar.

- So close, ‘Richy’! At 62’, Ledezma beat three defenders inside the box, found space and unleashed a left-footed shot toward the top corner, only to be denied by a fingertip save from the goalkeeper.

- 70’ ‘Efra’ collected the ball inside the area, took on his defender and aimed for the near post, but the goalkeeper closed him down and made the save.

Mazatlán 1-2 Chivas(Edgar Bárcenas 55’)(Efraín Álvarez 14’, Armando González 28’)Referee: Vicente Jassiel Reynoso ArceVenue: Estadio El Kraken

Lineups

Mazatlán: 33 Ricardo Rodríguez; 5 Facundo Almada, 14 Mauro Zaleta (sent off 42’), 19 Lucas Merolla (sent off 13’), 26 Ángel Leyva (31 Ángel Saavedra 65’); 11 Edgar Bárcenas, 21 Sebastián Santos (sent off 77’), 23 Jordan Sierra (C) (22 Alberto Herrera 79’); 7 Luiz Teodora, 10 Omar Moreno (4 Jair Díaz 22’) and 15 Brian Rubio (28 Jesús Hernández 65’).Head coach: Sergio Bueno

Guadalajara: 1 Raúl Rangel; 23 Daniel Aguirre (sent off 42’) (19 Diego Campillo 45’), 7 Luis Romo (C), 2 José Castillo (4 Miguel Tapias 81’); 24 Miguel Gómez 81’, 6 Omar Govea, 11 Brian Gutiérrez, 5 Bryan González; 10 Efraín Álvarez, 25 Roberto Alvarado and 34 Armando González (20 Ángel Sepúlveda 75’).Head coach: Gabriel Milito