Cruz Azul Ends Chivas Unbeaten Streak in 2-1 Win — Chivas Vs Cruz Azul Result Shifts Momentum
The match billed as chivas vs cruz azul produced a 2-1 victory for Cruz Azul that snapped Chivas’ perfect start to the tournament. The outcome matters now because Cruz Azul’s physicality and late finishing overturned the league leader and altered standings narratives heading into Jornada 7.
Chivas Vs Cruz Azul in Los Ángeles: scoreline and decisive plays
Cruz Azul defeated Chivas 2-1 in a contest played in Los Ángeles, with Agustín Palavecino delivering the assists that led to both of Cruz Azul’s headed goals. 'El Toro' Fernández opened the scoring in the first half — his sixth goal against Chivas — and Charly Rodríguez added the winner in the 85th minute. Chivas’ brief equalizer came earlier from the bench, after Brian Gutiérrez combined with Ricardo Marín and the cross found the head of 'El Cuate' Sepúlveda.
Maximiliano Quintero and the first-half intensity
The match unfolded with a tense, physical first half that prompted the referee Maximiliano Quintero to hand out seven cards before the break. Small scuffles, pushes and frequent contact punctuated play, and those early confrontations shaped the tactical adjustments both benches made when the whistle for half-time sounded.
Substitutions: Hugo Camberos and Brian Gutiérrez alter Chivas’ shape
Following the 1-0 halftime advantage for Cruz Azul, Chivas moved from a five-man defensive line to a four-man line, introducing Hugo Camberos for José Castillo and bringing Brian Gutiérrez on for Efrain Álvarez. The change produced an immediate effect: Gutiérrez’s verticality combined with Ricardo Marín’s service to create Sepúlveda’s header that made it 1-1. The appearance of Camberos was also notable for his apparent recovery, offering defensive consistency and greater depth on the flank.
Standings context: Estadio Cuauhtémoc fixture listing and the five-point gap
The matchup had been listed for Saturday, February 21, at the Estadio Cuauhtémoc as part of Jornada 7 of the Liga MX Clausura 2026. Before the game, Cruz Azul sat second with 13 points and a record of four victories, while Chivas led the table with 18 points and a perfect run into the seventh round — a five-point gap that heightened the fixture’s stakes. Cruz Azul arrived to this stretch buoyed by a win over Tigres; Chivas came in on the back of a Clásico Nacional victory over América.
Historical markers underscored the rivalry: at home, La Máquina had registered four consecutive Liga MX wins over Guadalajara and had kept Chivas scoreless in two of those meetings. Guadalajara’s last road victory at Cruz Azul dated to Clausura 2022, when Cristian 'Chicote' Calderón scored in that encounter. A preview of the fixture noted it had been generated with artificial intelligence and supervised by the TUDN team.
Nicolás Larcamón’s adjustments and on-field consequences
Cruz Azul coach Nicolás Larcamón reorganized his squad to meet the challenges posed by Gabriel Milito’s side, and the response was a team that neither sat back on a slim lead nor relinquished control when stretched. The physical arrebato and practical edge of Cruz Azul — highlighted by Willer Ditta’s strong defensive game — created the conditions for both headed goals and ultimately extinguished Chivas’ run without defeat.
What makes this notable is the timing: the 85th-minute header by Charly Rodríguez not only completed a comeback thwarting Chivas’ unbeaten record but also punctured a tournament statistic — Chivas had not conceded goals by header until that night, and they conceded two of them in the same match. The cause-and-effect is clear: Palavecino’s precise service produced Cruz Azul’s aerial strikes, and those finishes directly caused Chivas to lose their invicto status.
The match stretched to nearly 100 minutes of play in terms of drama and stoppages, leaving both teams and their coaches with tactical takeaways: Cruz Azul proved capable of matching intensity and delivering decisive plays late, while Chivas found resilience in substitutions and signs of recovery in Hugo Camberos even as the unbeaten line was broken.
The chivas vs cruz azul encounter will leave an impact on how both sides approach the immediate calendar: Cruz Azul’s result closes the gap in the table and proves their recent form is substantive, while Chivas must now reassess finishing and defensive vulnerabilities ahead of the next round.
