Guadalajara edges Cruz Azul, grabs share of top spot in Mexican league

Guadalajara edged Cruz Azul 1-0, moving into a tie with the Lobos BUAP for the top spot in the Mexican league’s Clausura tournament.

Guadalajara’s manager, Paraguayan Jose Cardozo, said after Saturday’s victory that his squad was off to a good start because it was hungry for wins after performing badly at the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup .

“I said something that people took the wrong way and that’s that we would be dangerous because we were hurting after the Club World Cup. It’s not about the present and the results we’re getting, it’s about the previous tournament and how we deserved better things ... something was missing. This time, it’s going differently,” Cardozo said.

Communication between players and coaches has improved, and that should lead to better results on the field, the Guadalajara manager said.

“We have a group that’s united and I try to get close to them so we can grow together, we’re in the same boat and we’re after the same goal in the end, to the Chivas competing at a high level,” Cardozo said.

Guadalajara shut out Tijuana 2-0 last weekend, giving it two shutouts so far in the tournament.

“The pressure’s there and I like it, that means there are fans who believe in us. If it wasn’t that way, our job would be easy. This is just getting started and we need to keep working with humility,” Cardozo said.