Chivas were on the verge of taking a 2-0 lead back to Estadio Chivas for the second leg of the 2017 Liga MX Clausura Final, but Andre-Pierre Gignac scored two remarkable goals, in the 85th and 88th minutes, to level the tie for Tigres.
For Chivas, the first 45 minutes in Estadio Universitario really couldn’t have gone any better. For Tigres and goalkeeper Nahuel Guzman, it was a disaster.
The opening 20 minutes were no indicator of what was later to come as Tigres saw Gignac, Jesus Duenas, Lucas Zelarayan and Ismael Sosa all fire shots at Rodolfo Cota in the Chivas goal.
In the 20th minute, Cota denied Sosa before Duenas fired over as a breakthrough looked inevitable for the home side. But Chivas forced a corner at the other end, and some atrocious play from Guzman saw the goalkeeper weakly punch the service right back into the thick of the danger.
The hapless punch bounced off a Tigres defender and rebounded to Alan Pulido in front of the net. The Chivas striker made no mistake in punishing Guzman for his effort.
| #UDLiguilla: GOOOOOL Pulido abre el marcador para @Chivas: pic.twitter.com/JsRi73eUCr
— Univision Deportes (@UnivisionSports) May 26, 2017
Tigers tried to to reassert their early dominance, but they were rocked again only three minutes before halftime. Pulido threatened on the right-hand side of the Tigres box, and he lashed an effort at Guzman.
The Argentinian goalkeeper could only parry the effort directly in front of goal, and Rodolfo Pizarro was there to convert the rebound for Chivas. The halftime whistle was met with disbelief by the 40,000 in attendance.
| #UDLiguilla: GOOOOOL Pizarro hace el segundo de @Chivas: pic.twitter.com/HiQfv46xEB
— Univision Deportes (@UnivisionSports) May 26, 2017
The referee's whistles began to add up in the second half as Chivas sought to disrupt any attacking rhythm that Tigres attempted to build. Duenas almost halved the deficit for Tigres in the 78th, but his curling effort agonizingly struck the base of the post and went out.
It looked as though Tigres would get no joy out of the first leg until that man came to the rescue again: Andre-Pierre Gignac. A superb cutback found Gignac 10 yards out, and he sent a curling effort inside the post.
| #UDLiguilla: GOOOOOL Gignac descuenta para Tigres: pic.twitter.com/xGBLpAdcb0
— Univision Deportes (@UnivisionSports) May 26, 2017
Tigres weren't done there. Gignac struck again in the 88th minute, only three minutes after his first. A superb long ball from Luis Rodriguez found Gignac sprinting through the Chivas defense. Cota rushed out to meet the Frenchman, but he took one touch to round the ‘keeper and sent an instinctive finish into the empty net from an acute angle.
| #UDLiguilla: GOOOOOL Gignac empata el partido con este golazo: pic.twitter.com/EbHceDttVj
— Univision Deportes (@UnivisionSports) May 26, 2017
Cue pandemonium, scenes and chaos in Estadio Universitario, and we're going to get more on Sunday at Estadio Chivas.
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