Chivas won the Clásico Tapatío by the narrowest of margins to advance to the Semifinal phase of the Clausura 2023 and this is no coincidence, as they have worked intensely to improve their soccer performance week after week.
In yesterday's match, Guadalajara showed tremendous maturity, they knew how to suffer through the moments of greatest tension. In such situations, it is where players dressed as heroes appeared to pull through the tie.
Team problems during the tournament
- In the first few games, there were deficiencies with ball control.
- The team found it difficult to maintain advantages during the second half.
- To obtain positive results at home.
Veljko Paunovic was in charge of working week after week on these details, so the team soon showed an improvement. In a short period of time, a great structure was noticed when organizing outlets, pressuring turnovers and defending higher up. The Rebaño was increasingly solid when defending results in the final minutes and, in turn, found the way to impose conditions at the Akron.
Where are we going with all this?
Chivas continues to grow in all aspects and the knockout game against Atlas proved it. A team that knew how to come from behind, that found different ways to compete, either with individual factors or strategies from the bench.
In the first leg, Guadalajara found it difficult to win aerial balls, which generated secondary plays and, subsequently, one goal. In addition, the team did not press as high, which allowed the red and black clearances to have a better direction. The pace of the game was low, which favored Atlas.
What did Pauno change in the second leg?
He adjusted the defensive structure with Chiquete as left back and Briseño as center back, which allowed Vega to remain a threat up front thanks to Gilberto's support. Chivas became strong with 'Pollo' and won everything up front, countered second actions and pressed high, which helped them to recover the ball quickly and generate dangerous chances from steals.
Including 'Cone' in the 11 revitalized the right wing, which in addition to winning dribbling had associations between him, Beltrán and Mozo. Veljko Paunovic has kept producing different results and being creative in his match plans, and Chivas is doubly competitive as a result.
