Milito delivers honest take on Chivas’ loss to Toluca | OneFootball

Toluca, Edomex.- Even though Chivas’ Clausura 2026 campaign remains positive, with the team sitting near the top of the standings, tonight’s performance against Toluca on Matchday 8 calls for some serious self-reflection. That’s how Gabriel Milito put it, acknowledging that the team’s level was well below expectations.

Fully aware of the talent in his squad, Chivas boss expressed confidence that this setback will serve as a learning experience to fix mistakes and come back stronger. He also made it clear that the immediate goal is to get back to their usual level of play and return to winning ways next weekend in the Clásico Tapatío.

Top quotes from Gabriel Milito’s post-Toluca press conference“Today we didn’t perform the way we expected or the way we had been playing. The early penalty hurt us, even though there was still plenty of time left to compete much better than we did.”

“They clearly made the difference in the first half, and against a team at that level, coming back is very difficult. We tried to adjust in the second half with a few changes, but it wasn’t enough to shift the momentum of the game.”

“As long as I’m the coach, we’re never going to settle for being down 2–0. We’re always going to try to equalize. It’s not in our mentality to just defend a loss. That’s why we made changes in the second half, but against a team like Toluca, it was too late.”

“This loss has nothing to do with the one against Cruz Azul. Still, it’s true that our two worst performances have come against Toluca, a very well-coached and experienced team.”

“I don’t believe in coincidences. These setbacks have to serve as lessons so we can grow and compete better. Personally, I take responsibility, because with the decisions I made, I wasn’t able to help the team enough.”

“We’ll draw conclusions from this bad game, but soccer moves fast and you have to turn the page quickly. The opportunity we had tonight is gone, and now we need to bounce back right away for the next match.”

“I’m happy when players get the chance to represent their national teams — I’m fully in favor of that because it helps them grow. But preparation time or call-ups can’t be excuses. The level we showed today mainly depends on us.”

“Regarding Luis Romo, he felt discomfort in his hamstring. It’s not exactly the same spot as the previous injury, but it’s in the same area. We’ll run tests to get a precise diagnosis and see how he progresses. We’re hoping for a speedy recovery.”