Get ready for the Liga MX final! Will Chivas win their 13th title and equal a historic record from archrivals Club America? Will Tigres somehow lift a championship with their third manager in charge since February?
Beginning with Thursday’s first leg at Tigres’ Estadio Universitario and wrapping up with Sunday’s second leg at Chivas’ Estadio Akron, this week will define the winners of the 2023 Clausura tournament. Here’s everything you need to know about the two finalists.
– Final Liga MX standings | Liga MX coverage on ESPN Deportes
– Futbol Americas on ESPN+: MLS, Liga MX, USMNT, El Tri
CHIVAS
(Regular season: 3rd place, 10W-4D-3L)
How they got here
Momentum is crucial in the playoffs and nobody sprinted into the Liguilla in better form than Chivas. Charging into the postseason with a four-game winning streak, Los Rojiblancos then defeated not just one rival in the playoffs, but two through Atlas in the quarterfinal Clasico Tapatio and Club America in the semifinal Clasico Nacional.
It was all far from easy though for new manager Veljko Paunovic and Chivas’ signature all-Mexican roster. In the quarters, Chivas needed to bounce back from a 1-0 deficit in the first leg and sneaked into the next round with a higher seed tiebreaker after a 1-1 aggregate draw through the second leg. Against Club America in the semis, Chivas once again fell 1-0 in the first leg before roaring back in the second leg with a convincing 3-1 away win that put them up 3-2 on aggregate.
Strengths/weaknesses
In an astonishingly quick time in his first-ever season as a Liga MX manager, Paunovic has made his team defensively rigid and organized in what has typically been a 4-1-4-1 or 4-3-3 formation. There has been a noteworthy increase in confidence from the backline in 2023, and even when they’ve made errors, goalkeeper Miguel “Wacho” Jimenez has done an exceptional job with his countless highlight-worthy moments in net.
Against Club America in the semifinal second leg, Paunovic also showcased that he can be a canny tactician as well with a surprise 3-man defense that kept Liga MX leading goalscorer Henry Martin quiet.
And yet, Chivas often find themselves in narrow results with their manager that typically aims for pragmatism over risk. That strategy has worked overall this season but led to two 1-0 losses in the playoffs. Up top, the attack continues to feel like a work-in-progress for their coach that seems to still be unsure if he wants to utilize a true striker or a false nine. Things have improved with their aerial duels in the postseason, but they have also had persistent issues throughout the year when fighting for the ball in the air.
