Sacred History: the day of one of Chivas' most epic comebacks. | OneFootball

One of the most eagerly awaited duels in the Clausura 2025 is approaching, as two teams with as much tradition as Chivas and Cruz Azul will face each other on Matchday 13 of the Clausura 2025. Obviously, this clash has a lot of history and today we will remember one of the most epic chapters that have been presented in this rivalry.

The 2003 Clausura playoff was played between Guadalajara, who finished eighth in the standings, and Cruz Azul, who came in eleventh. Given the high expectations of both teams, the Rojiblancos and Celestes had an obligation to advance to the next round, so the play-off promised excitement and drama from the outset.

The first leg seemed to dictate a sentence, as the Cementeros beat the Rebaño 4-1, which left a more than complex panorama for the second leg. However, on May 25, 2003, the day on which the final match was played, Guadalajara demonstrated the reason why you should never leave a rival for dead.

If the disadvantage in the first leg was already very complex, just at the dawn of the second leg, the referee whistled a penalty in favor of Cruz Azul, which was very well executed by 'Paco' Palencia, who made it 1-5 on aggregate. Not even the goal scored by the Máquina was enough to kill the spirits of an enraged Rebaño Sagrado, who, at 14', scored the equalizer through 'Tiburón' Sánchez. Subsequently, Omar Bravo scored from the penalty spot and Johnny García did the same before halftime to reach the break with the aggregate score at 4-5.

Chivas had 45 minutes to complete the feat and, with this motivation, took control of the match and was insistent on the goal of 'Conejo' Pérez. At 60', Jaír García caused the Jalisco Stadium to explode with a tremendous individual play, as he eliminated a rival with a little hat trick and later, he shot a left-footed cross to make it 5-5 and give Guadalajara the pass, thanks to the better position in the general table.

There is no doubt that on that day, the Coloso de la Calzada Independencia witnessed one of the most epic chapters in the history of this rivalry, which is why today we remember it as part of the preview of the clash between Chivas and Cruz Azul, corresponding to Day 13 of the Clausura 2025.