Chivas Guadalajara beat Club America 2-0 in front of a sold-out Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on Sunday night, taking the October international-window edition of the Clasico Nacional behind a first-half brace from Ángel Sepúlveda. The striker converted a 14th-minute penalty after Alejandro Zendejas was punished for a handball inside the area, then doubled the lead eight minutes later with a diving header from Fernando “Oso” González’s cross, and the Rebaño held firm in a match that carried all of the rivalry’s edge despite its friendly billing.
- Result: Club America 0-2 Chivas Guadalajara
- Goals: Ángel Sepúlveda 14′ (pen), 22′
- Competition: International club friendly
- Venue: Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California
- Date: Sunday, October 4, 2026
Club America vs Chivas Guadalajara Match Recap
Chivas struck first in the 12th minute when Kevin Castañeda’s set piece struck Alejandro Zendejas’s outstretched arm inside the area. With no VAR in operation, the referee pointed to the spot immediately and showed Zendejas a yellow card. Sepúlveda sent Luis Ángel Malagón the wrong way from the penalty spot to make it 1-0, and Chivas pressed for a second: Malagón stretched to keep out Castañeda’s direct free kick in the 19th minute before the lead doubled three minutes later. After a neat Chivas combination, the “Oso” González delivered a cross that Sepúlveda met with a diving header to beat Malagón for 2-0.
The friendly was anything but calm. Three flashpoints between the squads stopped short of full brawls in the first half, and the referee issued ten yellow cards across the 90 minutes as fouls and shoves repeatedly broke up play. America had spells of possession but rarely turned them into clear chances before halftime; Miguel Borja’s 21st-minute effort drifted wide, and the striker was booked seven minutes later for a hard challenge on Richard Ledezma.
Both coaches rotated heavily after the break. Chivas kept the sharper edge: Sepúlveda nearly completed a hat trick in the 74th minute, Malagón produced an acrobatic stop to deny Leonel Calderón in the 68th, and Efraín Álvarez tried his luck from near midfield in the 82nd with Malagón beaten, missing by inches. America’s best second-half opening fell to Carlos Álvarez in the 69th minute after a poor Luis Rey clearance, but the midfielder dragged his shot wide. Chivas closed out the 2-0 without further alarm.
Watch: Sepúlveda’s Header Doubles the Chivas Lead
Telemundo Deportes posted the official clip of Ángel Sepúlveda’s 22nd-minute diving header that sealed Chivas Guadalajara’s 2-0 win in Oakland: watch Sepúlveda’s second goal.
Three Takeaways From Club America vs Chivas Guadalajara
1. Sepúlveda punished the one gift he needed
The match turned on a single defensive error. Zendejas’s handball from a poor Castañeda delivery handed Chivas a penalty they did not waste, and once Sepúlveda had the opener, Chivas attacked with confidence. The brace in eight first-half minutes was the difference between two depleted squads, and Sepúlveda nearly added a third late on.
2. Another scoreless night for Club America
America finished the October break without scoring a single goal. Thursday’s 0-0 friendly with Cruz Azul in San Diego was followed by Sunday’s 2-0 defeat in Oakland, and while the possession spells were there, the cutting edge was not. Miguel Borja and Carlos Álvarez had the clearest openings and missed both. Guillermo Almada’s attack will need to find its rhythm quickly with league play resuming on Saturday.
3. A needed response for Chivas before the Clasico Tapatio
Coming off a 2-0 home defeat to Queretaro that ended an eight-match unbeaten run, Chivas used the friendly exactly as Gabriel Milito would have wanted: a disciplined, efficient win over the archrival with a squad missing nine players on Mexico national-team duty. It is the ideal tone-setter for Saturday’s Clasico Tapatio at Atlas.
What the Result Means
There are no points in a friendly, but bragging rights in the Clasico Nacional are never meaningless. Chivas take the first U.S.-staged meeting of this particular rivalry stop into the season’s decisive stretch with momentum, while the defeat extends Guillermo Almada’s winless run against Chivas Guadalajara to eight consecutive matches: six Liga MX meetings before he took the America job, September’s 2-2 draw at the Estadio Azteca, and now this friendly. For America, two scoreless friendlies in three days raise a legitimate question about the attack as the Apertura enters its final third.
What Comes Next
Chivas Guadalajara return to league action on Saturday, October 10, with the Clasico Tapatio against Atlas at the Estadio Jalisco in Liga MX Apertura 2026 Jornada 11. Club America are also back on Saturday, October 10, hosting Monterrey at home in Liga MX Apertura 2026 Jornada 11 (9:00 PM Mexico City time); see Club America’s U.S. viewing schedule for the Monterrey match broadcast details.
