The biggest rivalry in Mexican soccer has also become its most common fixture in 2024.
Club América and Chivas will face off Saturday night in what will be the sixth official Clásico Nacional since the start of the calendar year. Furthermore, these two teams met on five different occasions between March and April, reminiscent of the run of Clásicos between Real Madrid and Barcelona in the 2010-2011 season.
The first meetings were in this year's Concacaf Champions League Round of 16, where in the first leg América went into Chivas’ Akron Stadium and dismantled its rival 3-0. Chivas tried to fight back at the Azteca Stadium, but its 3-2 win in the second leg served as a consolation for missing out on a chance to play in next summer’s Club World Cup.
The derby added another chapter only three days later. A 0-0 draw during the regular season of Liga MX’s Clausura 2024 put an end to a run of three derbies in 10 days.
The last two matches were the most tightly contested of the year, and the ones with the highest stakes. América and Chivas squared off in last May’s Liga MX semi-finals. The two-legged tie remained scoreless for the first 150 minutes, until Israel Reyes headed home the only goal of the semifinal, propelling América to the final en route to back-to-back Liga MX titles.
América has dominated El Clásico Nacional in recent history. However, in this early season they’ve been slow off the gate and currently sit five points back of Chivas who have impressed in recent weeks.
Chivas travel to Mexico City for Saturday night’s derby eager to avenge 2024’s tough losses against its greatest rival. Although it’s not a knockout round, a win would confirm the positive steps the team is taking in head-coach Fernando Gago’s second season.
Not only that, it would be the team’s first Clásico Nacional victory in a Liga MX regular season game since 2017.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as El Clásico Nacional: Chivas and Club América Meet for Sixth Time in a Calendar Year.
