Piojo Alvarado scores in his debut with Chivas on friendly match against Necaxa

Not a week after Roberto “Piojo” Alvarado joined Chivas from Cruz Azul in a trade that also involved Uriel Antuna and Alejandro Mayorga, the Mexican National Team Player debuted with a goal for his new team on a friendly match against Necaxa.

Chivas visited Aguascalientes on what would be the first of two games El Rebaño and Los Rayos would play today, in what would be the last friendly encounter both Liga MX teams played before the start of Clausura 2022.

Chivas won the game disputed at Estadio Victoria by a 4-0 score, with goals from César Huerta, in the first half, and “Piojo” Alvarado, Fernando Beltrán and Jonathan Parra in the second half of the game.

Just as the second half started, “Piojo” Alvarado scored the second goal for the visitors assisted by Ronaldo Cisneros, who crossed a pass right to the border of the goal box, where Alvarado was waiting for the ball to place it at the bottom of the net in a one-touch goal.

It’s worth mentioning that the second game played this afternoon was originally going to be disputed between Necaxa and Tapatío, Chivas Academy team from Liga de Expansión, but El Rebaño decided to take the opportunity and try other players in the squad that usually don’t have much playtime, looking for having a competitive team for Clausura 2022.

Chivas preseason: Additions and friendly matches

Up until today, “Piojo” Alvarado is the lone official addition to Chivas side for the upcoming tournament, although some more could join in the next few days, such as Olswaldo Alanís, who played for San José Earthquakes last season –team that didn’t renew his loan from Chivas– but still has a year of contract with El Rebaño, or Jürgen Damm, who also played in the MLS last season but ended his contract with Atlanta United.

Prior to this game, Chivas played two more preseason matches, the first one against Colima FC, game that El Rebaño won comfortably on a 8-0 victory, and then they faced Mineros, from Liga de Expansión, where they also won, this time by a score of 3-1.

Necaxa ends preseason with a couple of losses in friendly matches

On the other side, Necaxa has also played two games, with one win and one loss. Los Rayos first preseason game was against Liga de Expansión Mineros de Zacatecas, game that they won 3-1. Their second game was against Liga MX team Atlético de San Luis, match that also ended 3-1, but this time Necaxa was on the losing side.

Los Rayos added five new players to the squad for Clausura 2022, starting with Dieter Villalpando, who arrived from Puebla after playing just a couple of games with Los Camoteros last season.

Ulises Cardona, who joined them from Mazatlán, and Chileans Jorge Valdivia, who arrived as a free agent, Ángelo Araos, who played last season with Brazilian team Corinthians and Nico Castillo, who rescinded his contract with América on the first days of December, complete the new signings for Los Hidrocálidos.

What’s in store for the Liga MX teams?

Chivas will start Clausura 2022 receiving Mazatlán for their first match of the year on Sunday 9 at 19:00 (ET). The tapatíos will try to make it to Liguilla, as they finished 10th on the Apertura 2021 standings last season and were eliminated by Puebla during repechaje.

On the other hand, Necaxa will start Clausura 2022 on the road, as they’ll visit FC Juárez on January 7, at 20:00 (ET). Los Rayos will try to improve what they did last season, when they weren’t able to access the playoffs, as they only managed to reach position 14 on the standing.