Chivas Vs Cruz Azul Ends Chivas' Unbeaten Run in 2-1 Victory
In a marquee Jornada 7 clash of the Liga MX Clausura 2026, Cruz Azul handed leader Chivas a 2-1 defeat, ending the Rebaño's perfect start — a result highlighted by Desirée Monsiváis in Futbol Picante (2: 14) who noted Chivas' lack of finishing. The chivas vs cruz azul matchup turned on two headed goals and late-game intensity.
Cruz Azul imposed themselves and took the lead
The match was described as a feast of football lasting almost 100 minutes, with Cruz Azul’s best version of the tournament dominating enough to put the leader on the back foot. ‘El Toro’ Fernández scored in the first half and that strike was his sixth goal against Chivas; that header opened the scoring and forced Chivas into immediate changes for the second half.
How the goals came — headers changed the game
Chivas’ temporary 1-1 equalizer came from the bench: Brian Gutiérrez combined with Ricardo Marín, and his cross found José 'El Cuate' Sepúlveda, who finished with a decisive header. The match-winner arrived at minute 85 when Charly Rodríguez connected with a perfect assist from Agustín Palavecino — Palavecino had also set up the opening 1-0 — and Charly’s header made it 2-1. Before that night Chivas had not conceded goals by head in the tournament; on this occasion they conceded two.
Tactical shifts, substitutions and a stern referee presence
The first half was intense and tightly contested, with referee Maximiliano Quintero handing out seven cards in that period alone. Trailing 1-0 at the interval, Chivas moved from a five-man to a four-man back line and made two substitutions: Hugo Camberos came on for José Castillo and Brian Gutiérrez replaced Efrain Álvarez. Nicolás Larcamón also reorganized his team to meet threats posed by Gabriel Milito. Small scuffles and hard contact punctuated the game but produced no major incidents.
Chivas Vs Cruz Azul: standings, venue notes and recent form
The fixture was part of Jornada 7 of the Liga MX Clausura 2026 and was scheduled for Saturday, 21 de febrero at Estadio Cuauhtémoc in one notice of the matchup; another report framed the scene in Los Ángeles, creating differing venue notes in the coverage. Entering the match, Chivas led the table with 18 points on a perfect run, while Cruz Azul sat second with 13 points and four victories, a five-point gap between them. Cruz Azul arrived with momentum after a win over Tigres in their previous match; Chivas came in after beating América in the Clásico Nacional.
Key performances and small consolations for Chivas
Willer Ditta was singled out for an outstanding performance for Cruz Azul. For Chivas, the game offered signs of recovery from Hugo Camberos, whose entry brought dynamism, depth and defensive consistency, and Brian Gutiérrez’s vertical play — noted as having attracted Javier Aguirre’s attention — caused trouble for the visitors after his substitution. Historically, in home fixtures La Máquina had recorded four consecutive league wins over the Rebaño and in two of those kept Guadalajara scoreless; Guadalajara’s last victory at the celestes was in Clausura 2022 with a goal by Cristian 'Chicote' Calderón.
The coverage of the match also included commentary by Desirée Monsiváis on Futbol Picante (2: 14), and one scheduling/coverage note stated that some of the viewing and match-preview content was generated with artificial intelligence under supervision of the TUDN team.
The result stands as the Jornada 7 outcome of the Clausura 2026; the teams' next confirmed fixtures are unclear in the provided context.
