With Both Sides Down A Man, Morelia Beat Chivas

The clash against Morelia and Chivas was important to both as the Apertura wound down. For Morelia the three points cemented their stance at the top of group two, while Chivas could have taken the advantage of adding three points two a weak group one. In the end Morelia beat Chivas 3-1 and took all the points with goals from Ramirez, Rey, and Hernandez in the second half with both teams reduced to ten men as well.  

Morelia looked dangerous on two corner kicks in the 11th minute. In the first one Luis Michel was able to slap it away but it turned into another corner kick. For the next one Mauricio Romero sent a header just over the cross bar.  

Luis Michel saved Chivas from the first goal in the 14th minute when he came against Luis Gabriel Rey. The Chivas goalkeeper managed to stop the shot as Rey came up against Michel, but Michel planted himself in front of  Rey and stopped the shot that was going right.  

Javier ‘Chicharo’ Hernandez came up with something for Chivas in the 24th minute. He went down the right and took the shot himself after getting past few defenders, but his shot was too weak and went to the hands of Moises Muñoz.  

Marvin Cabrera sent in a shot for Rey in the 28th minute who then tried a diving header, but missed in a largely open goal.  

Soon after the game resumed Rey back heeled the ball towards Luis Alonso Sandoval. The shot from Morelia was stopped by Michel with the tip of his toe. The rebound  

Chivas had fortune go its way in the 31st minute. ‘Chicharo’ Hernandez had a breakaway after receiving the ball just on the edge of the Chivas side, and went up against Moises Muñoz. Several Morelia players that were behind complained that the Chivas forward was offside, but nothing was given. With only the goalkeeper in front of the goal, ‘Chicharo’ tried to round Muñoz but went down as his legs tangled in the ‘keeper‘s legs.. Muñoz was given a red card and Chivas  a penalty. Carlos Rodriguez was sent in as the replacement, debuting in the tournament.  It was Chicharo that took the penalty against the goalkeeper and he sent it to the low right corner of the goal, giving Chivas the lead.  

Chivas were also reduced to ten men in the 49th minute. Omar Esparza committed a foul in the midfield and after referee Hugo Guajardo let the game run on he went back to take care of it. Instead of giving Esparza a card because of his foul he accidentally gave it to ‘Chicharo’ Hernandez. Hernandez had received a yellow card only minutes before, and that was his second yellow. This mistake sent the Chivas goal scorer off, and left the both with only ten men.  

Luis Ernesto Michel had the ball go into his hands in the 50th minute after a free kick was headed towards goal by Marvin Cabrera.  

Morelia scored in the 52nd minute by Ramirez. Aldo Ramirez received the ball up against Michel who had come out of his goal. He then sent it over the goalkeeper and the ball floated into the goal. Only Jonny Magallon tried to save it but couldn’t get there in time to stop the equalizer.  

In the 57th minute Luis Gabriel Rey scored the second goal for Morelia  with a ‘chilena’ between two Chivas players. Jaime Duran had sent in a cross towards Rey who was badly marked by the Chivas defense.  

Michel managed to save in the 65th minute a long distance shot from Elias Hernandez.  

Only two minutes later Hernandez added the third. Hernandez received a cross at the edge of the box from midfield and took off. Reynoso tried to block Hernandez, but was of little hindrance, and the Morelia player sent in a powerful shot the Michel’s right. The goalkeeper was on the left post and unable to stop the third goal.  

Morelia could have added another in the 89th minute. Rey tried to swing in a shot, but his effort ended up going wide before being called offside.

Andrea Martinez, Goal.com

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