Cruz Azul Vs Guadalajara: Cruz Azul ends Chivas’ unbeaten run with 2-1 win
cruz azul vs guadalajara delivered a tense, nearly 100-minute spectacle as Cruz Azul beat league leader Chivas 2-1 and took away the Rebaño’s unbeaten run, a result that left both teams reshuffling plans for the rest of the Clausura 2026 Jornada 7.
Cruz Azul’s decisive headers and the late strike
The scoreline was settled by two headed goals and a late finish: ‘El Toro’ Fernández broke the deadlock in the first half — his sixth goal against Chivas — and Charly Rodríguez sealed the match in the 85th minute with a header assisted by Agustín Palavecino, who had also set up the opening goal. Chivas’ brief equalizer came from the bench when Brian Gutiérrez combined with Ricardo Marín and his cross found the header of ‘El Cuate’ Sepúlveda to make it 1-1.
Tactical changes, cards and small scuffles
The game, described as almost 100 minutes of thrilling football, began with pushing and shoving that produced small trifulcas but no lasting consequences; the referee Maximiliano Quintero issued seven yellow cards in the first half. After Cruz Azul’s 1-0 lead at the half, Chivas moved from a five-man line to a four-man back line in the second half and brought Hugo Camberos on for José Castillo and Brian Gutiérrez on for Efrain Álvarez.
Cruz Azul Vs Guadalajara: venue notes and a scheduling discrepancy
One account places the match in Los Angeles as a Saturday night fixture that featured a “Noche fastuosa” and high intensity on the field; a separate scheduling preview listed the fixture for Saturday 21 de febrero at the Estadio Cuauhtémoc as part of Jornada 7 of the Clausura 2026. The two items in the record present both the Los Angeles description and the Estadio Cuauhtémoc scheduling detail; this is a discrepancy in the provided context.
Standings, momentum and individual performances
The scheduling preview noted Cruz Azul sat second with 13 points and four wins entering Jornada 7, while Chivas led the table with 18 points on a perfect run to the seventh date — a five-point gap between them. Cruz Azul arrived with confidence after a win over Tigres in its last match, and Chivas came off a Clásico Nacional victory over América. At home, La Máquina had four consecutive Liga MX wins over the Rebaño and kept Chivas scoreless in two of those matches; Guadalajara’s last win at the Celestes came in Clausura 2022 with a goal by Cristian 'Chicote' Calderón.
Coaches, adjustments and standout players
Coaches made visible adjustments: Nicolás Larcamón reorganized his side to handle threats from Gabriel Milito’s team, and Chivas’ switch and substitutions aimed to respond to Cruz Azul’s pressure. The match report singled out Willer Ditta for an outstanding defensive night for Cruz Azul. For Chivas, Hugo Camberos appeared to recover form after his introduction, offering dynamism and defensive consistency, while Brian Gutiérrez’s vertical play — praised by Javier Aguirre in the account — caused problems after his entrance.
Commentary in a postgame segment on Futbol Picante featured Desirée Monsiváis highlighting Cruz Azul’s 2-1 victory and saying that the Rebaño lacked finishing; the broadcast note in the scheduling preview also stated the content was generated with artificial intelligence and supervised by TUDN.
The match was recorded as part of Jornada 7 of the Clausura 2026; fixtures and standings will proceed under that slate of dates for the remainder of the round.
