Chivas Rides Two Blowout Wins Into Clásico Nacional as League Leader, América Looks to Bounce Back After 4-3 Loss to Cruz Azul

One point. That's all that separates Chivas from America in the Apertura 2026 table, right before the two rivals meet in another Clasico Nacional. But the full numbers tell an even more even story, and at the same time, one that's completely at odds with the mood inside each locker room.

The Herd arrives as league leader with 17 points after thrashing Pumas 3-0. The Eagles sit on 16 points following a painful stumble: a 4-3 loss to Cruz Azul in the Clasico Joven. What's curious is that both teams show almost identical numbers on offense and defense: 15 goals scored, six allowed and a +9 goal difference for each. The difference lies in the schedule: Chivas reached those totals in eight matchdays, while America did it in seven, since it still has a game in hand against Tijuana.

Where there is a real gap is in form. Guadalajara comes in on the back of two identical 3-0 blowouts, while Guillermo Almada's America has gone three games without a win between Liga MX and the Leagues Cup.

An America Team That Was Unbeaten Until It Ran Into Cruz Azul

Before the Clasico Joven, Almada's side had an almost perfect start: five wins and a draw in its first six games, having conceded just two goals. That shield shattered all at once. Erik Lira, Jose Paradela and Jesus Orozco Chiquete built a 3-0 lead for La Maquina before halftime. Brian Rodriguez pulled one back at the start of the second half, but Gabriel Fernandez stretched the lead again to make it 4-1 in the 72nd minute.

America reacted too late. Oscar Perea and Miguel Borja, two of the reinforcements who arrived after the tournament had already started, cut the gap to a final 4-3, but it wasn't enough. Perea scored his first Liga MX goal on the night; Borja scored his in his debut with the first team. America's front office closed the transfer market with six new faces (Perea, Edwin Cerrillo, Borja, Carlos Alvarez, Santiago Ramos Mingo and Santiago Bueno), though several of those pieces still have little time on the field alongside the rest of the squad.

Chivas: Seven Games Unbeaten and Goals Spread Around

Guadalajara opened the tournament with a 2-0 loss to Toluca at Akron Stadium. Since then it hasn't lost again in Liga MX: beating FC Juarez, Santos, Tijuana, Atletico San Luis and Pumas, and drawing with Puebla and Pachuca. In its last two outings it posted the same scoreline, 3-0, first against San Luis and then against the university side, where Santiago Sandoval scored twice and Bryan Gonzalez, back after four games out with injury, added the third.

That surge, notably, has come without last season's top scorer. Armando Gonzalez, "la Hormiga," left the club for Olympiacos after scoring 12 goals in the Apertura 2025 and another 12 in the Clausura 2026, including decisive goals in recent Clasicos. Without him, the scoring load has been shared: Roberto Alvarado and Ricardo Marin each have four goals, and Sandoval reached three with his brace against Pumas.

Recent history also favors Guadalajara: it won the last two league Clasicos Nacionales, both under manager Gabriel Milito. Now Milito will try to keep that streak alive without the forward who scored in both of those meetings, while Almada faces his first Clasico Nacional just a week after losing the Clasico Joven.