Chivas create chances but can't finish: strikers' goal drought raises concern after Pachuca draw

Nine shots and just one goal. That was Chivas's offensive summary at Estadio Hidalgo, where a 1-1 draw with Pachuca left a snapshot that's already starting to worry people in Guadalajara: the center forwards aren't showing up.

The Chivas goal didn't come from a striker inside the box. Roberto Alvarado scored it after a solo run from Hugo Camberos, and that was enough to salvage a point, but not enough to paper over a problem that's now gone two games without a fix: Ricardo Marin couldn't find the net, and Angel Sepulveda, who came on as a second-half substitute, also failed to change the game's complexion.

Is this a problem of creating chances? Doesn't seem like it. Chivas once again got into Pachuca's box with regularity, finishing with nine shots on the night, a solid enough number. The issue is who's putting the ball away. Gabriel Milito's side has scored six goals in its last two matches, but only two of those carry a center forward's signature, and both belong to Marin against Xolos, one from the penalty spot.

The bill coming due after the Hormiga's exit

The departure of Armando Gonzalez left a void that Chivas knew was going to sting sooner or later. La Hormiga was the team's offensive reference point over the past year and left with 24 goals to his name, a tally the coaching staff now has to divide up among the players who stayed on the roster.

The game against Pachuca was the first night that absence was truly felt. Before that, Marin had answered with two goals against Tijuana, and it looked like the blow could be absorbed without much trouble. But at the Hidalgo, the responsibility fell once again on the starting striker, who tried to get involved in the play without managing a clear chance, and on Sepulveda, who had barely more than 15 minutes to try to flip the result.

Of the six goals scored so far this stretch, one came from a winger, two came from midfielders, one from a defender, and only the remaining two belong to a center forward. It's a distribution that, for now, is good enough to pick up points, but it leaves Chivas dependent on goals coming from positions that aren't naturally built to finish.

Milito had already talked about the need to spread that scoring load among different players following Gonzalez's exit, and so far the team is getting by as one of the tournament's top chance creators. The problem is that creating chances isn't always the same as converting them, and that distinction was exactly what got exposed in Pachuca.

Marin will have to shoulder a good part of that responsibility for the rest of the Apertura 2026, and Sepulveda, who still hasn't scored in the tournament, needs to find that first goal soon so he's not stuck watching the problem unfold from the bench or from the closing minutes of matches.