The silent hero that helped Chivas beat Xolos de Tijuana

After 13 rounds of Clausura 2022, it seemed almost impossible that Chivas were going to make it to the playoffs this season, not even to Repechaje even if Liga MX gives 12 out of the 18 teams a chance of winning the title.

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But after the 3-1 defeat against Monterrey and Victor Manuel Vucetich, who coached Chivas before Marcelo Michel Leaño found a way of getting him sacked to take over his job, Amaury Vergara understood that El Rebaño needed urgent changes.

That’s why he parted ways with Michel Leaño and gave Ricardo Cadena the opportunity of show why he’s been part of the Chivas structure for plenty of years, as he knows what Chivas needs to be successful in Liga MX.

And Cadena only needed two games to revert the irregular season that Michel Leaño had, as Chivas now stands 7 with two games left to be played in the regular season, giving El Rebaño big chances of playing Repechaje with the home advantage.

A silent hero that came from the academy

One thing that Ricardo Cadena has excelled at doing in the few days he’s been coaching the first team is finding a balance on the roster between experienced players and young prospects, something that Michel Leaño failed to do, as he only debuted Sebastián Pérez Bouquet.

Cadena knows well all the players from the U-20 to CD Tapatío, Chivas’ reserves team, as he’s coached both teams in the past, which opened the possibilities for debuting more players, including Eduardo Torres, Pavel Pérez, and Paolo Yrízar, who even if didn’t play, he’s been on the bench.

But it was Pavel Pérez who became the hero for El Rebaño on the comeback against Xolos, as he was involved on the play of the first goal of Chivas and scored an authentic “Golazo” to give Chivas the victory. It’s worth noting that this was his first goal in Mexico’s top flight.

Who is Pavel Pérez?

The 23-year-old left-winger substituted Isaac “Cone” Brizuela during the first half due to an injury. Pérez started his career in Chivas academy teams, although he already had the opportunity of playing in Spanish second flight with CD Toledo, where he played for a season.

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