If there was one thing that stood out at the end of the Guadalajara tournament, it was the extraordinary work of the defensive line, with and without the ball. As the matchdays went by in the Clausura 2024, Fernando Gago found his ideal players to protect the Red and White backline and their performance led them to be one of the best defenses in the competition.
The good moment that the Red-and-White defense is going through can be summarized in 4 convincing facts:
- Chivas finished the regular phase of the CL24 as the third-best defense with 17 goals conceded.
- The Rebaño has accumulated 360 minutes without conceding a goal.
- Guadalajara only allowed 2 goals in the last 7 matches they played.
- In 6 of those 7 matches, Chivas kept a clean sheet.
How big has been the impact of such work in Fernando Gago's game model?
Guadalajara's good streak has several explanations and one of the main ones is the contribution of the defenders, who are not only capable of winning individual duels and defending the area but have also contributed their grain of sand in ball exits and drives that help Chivas to settle in the opponent's field.
Two elements that have been key to these figures are Gilberto Sepúlveda and José Castillo, who, despite suffering injuries at different times during the tournament that kept them out of the starting 11, were able to recover at a much higher level for the red and white structure.
Another of the most outstanding names in the Clausura 2024 is Raúl Rangel, who is just experiencing his first tournament as a starting goalkeeper and is one of the 10 players in La Liga who have played all the minutes in the tournament. The 'Tala' has kept a clean sheet in 7 matches in the tournament, which translates into invaluable security for the Chiverío under the 3 posts.
