The Chivas de Guadalajara could not exorcise their demons at home during the visit of the Red Devils of Toluca. The Sacred Flock fell with a two-goal deficit in a match where the red and white team, led by the Argentine Gabriel Milito, ended up paying dearly the price for their own precipitations on the field of play.

The Mexican team once again established itself as a real tough nut to crack, completely deciphering the Guadalajara strategy and making Guadalajara look like a team with few offensive resources. This exhibition left aside the optimism generated by the preseason work; a reality very different from the certainties shown during the last tournament, in which Chivas maintained an enviable competitive level.

First a controversial penalty that opened the scoring with the score by Alexis Vega and then the rigorous expulsion of Luis Romo, which helped determine the fate of Guadalajara in the rest of the contest.

The physical factor and performance peaks

It was a duel where Toluca knew how to capitalize on the rival's physical advantages. The national teams Luis Romo and Roberto Alvarado made evident the lack of rhythm derived from their late incorporation to the preseason. This disconnection caused Guadalajara to suffer marked peaks in performance: moments of lucidity where they put together good football, suddenly interspersed with serious technical imprecations.

The debacle began to brew in a defensive inattention that Alexis Vega did not forgive. The scarlet captain advanced the visit by taking a maximum penalty with the cold blood of the 'Panenka' style; a genius that revived in the memory of the fans that collection by Gonzalo Pineda in the 2005 Confederations Cup against the Argentine goalkeeper Germán Lux.

Red-and-white impotence and the final blow

That goal acted as a direct impact to the heart of Chivas, who from that moment seemed to emulate the frustration of the Mexico team in those World Cup round of 16 against England. Gabriel Milito's pupils got tired of pressing the rival area, but they made mistakes in their forms and paths in an identical way to what happened at the time to Javier Aguirre's tactical trident.

Although the Guadalajara team took over the boundaries of the choricera area, they lacked the necessary clarity to fracture the defensive wall imposed by the Uruguayan Federico Pereira and Everardo López in the central defense, complemented by the coverage of Santiago Simón and the deployment of Jesús Gallardo on the sides.

When the local siege seemed more intense, Toluca found the key to put an end to the red-and-white illusions. In a dizzying run led by the Brazilian Helinho, Jesús Gallardo resolved the play like the great people, crossing a powerful left-footed shot that beat Raúl Rangel to decree the final 0-2 on the scoreboard.