Gilberto Sepulveda scored a second-half goal on Sunday night as Chivas beat Atlas 1-0 to qualify for the semi-finals of the Clausura tournament in Mexico, where they will face America in a clasico.
“Tiba” Sepúlveda scored the only goal of the match in the 59th minute and it was enough for Guadalajara to tie the series 1–1.
Chivas advanced to the next round due to their better position in the table, where they finished in third place.
In another key, leader Monterrey will measure forces with Tigres in a classic in the city of the country’s north.
The Mexican Football Federation will announce the official dates and times of both matches on Monday.
This will be the first meeting between the country’s two most popular teams since Apertura 2020, when Chivas ousted America in the quarterfinals.
It was the last time in that tournament that Guadalajara reached the best-of-four round.
The game had few scoring chances in the first half, where Atlas had the clearest chance on 37 with a shot from Argentina’s Julio Furch which was deflected over the line by Jesús Orozco to avoid scoring.
Chivas took the lead on a corner kick taken by Alexis Vega and Sepúlveda took advantage of Zoros’ poor marking and converted with a header that denied Colombia goalkeeper Camilo Vargas.
Atlas made plays in the final minutes, but goalkeeper Miguel Jimenez turned down efforts from Ozil Herrera and Ferch to preserve the win.
Furch had another arrival in the 90s, with a header crashing into the right post.
Earlier, a goal from striker Sebastián Córdova in the second half broke a partial tie in the series and despite a 3–1 loss to Toluca, Tigres qualified for the semi-finals of the Mexican Clausura tournament with a 5–4 aggregate score. .
Forward Iván López found the net on 24 and 53 minutes and Marcel Ruiz added a goal on 45 to put the Red Devils on top. But Córdova converted the decisive goal in the 71st minute following a pass by Frenchman Andre-Pierre Gignac.
Tigres, Mexico’s most dominant team, having won five league titles in the past decade, returns in the semi-finals. They lost to eventual champions Atlas in that instance of the 2022 Clausura.
The varsity team advanced to the semi-finals with their third coach in the semester. Diego Coca of Argentina started the Clausura, but left the team to take over the reins of the Mexico team. Marco Antonio Ruiz took control, but was sacked after losing at home to Mazatlán for the 14th and was replaced by Uruguay’s Robert Dante Siboldi.
University students reached the league via the playoffs after finishing seventh.
Toluca was looking to reach the semi-finals of the second consecutive tournament. In the last Apertura they reached the final, but were defeated by Pachuca.
