Ángel Sepúlveda’s late equalizer rescued a 1-1 draw for Chivas against Atlas in the Clasico Tapatio on Saturday night, and the bench emptied in celebration. Everyone except Jordan Carrillo.
An image that never made the television broadcast, captured inside Estadio Jalisco and shared by fans on Monday, shows the summer signing still in his seat, arms crossed, while the coaching staff and the rest of the substitutes celebrated around him. Within hours it had become the most debated Chivas image of the week, because it landed on top of a frustration supporters have been voicing for weeks.
The image stung because of what Carrillo had said before the match. In the build-up to his first Clasico Tapatio as a Chivas player, he spoke about how much the occasion meant to him and called playing in it a dream. Gabriel Milito then left him on the bench for all 90 minutes. It was the second straight league clasico in which Carrillo did not play a single minute, after he also sat out the draw with Club America in September.
The Numbers Behind the Photo
Strip away the interpretation and the documented part of this story is Carrillo’s role. The 24-year-old has played in seven of Chivas’ 11 Apertura 2026 matches, started only three of them, and totaled 279 minutes, an average of about 40 minutes per appearance. He has yet to record a goal or an assist in the tournament.
That is a steep drop from six months ago. On loan at Pumas UNAM in the Clausura 2026, Carrillo played 22 matches, started 20, logged 1,502 minutes and produced six goals and three assists, per FotMob figures, as Pumas UNAM reached the final. Santos Laguna then sold him to Chivas in the summer, in the move that generated the most excitement in the fanbase. By late September, Diario Record had already put him on its front page as the disappointment of the transfer window.
Under Milito, Roberto Alvarado, Efraín Álvarez, Santiago Sandoval and Hugo Camberos have all been preferred in the attacking rotation, and Carrillo’s opportunities have shrunk as the tournament has gone on.
What the Photo Does Not Prove
Carrillo has not said anything publicly about his role, and a single still image cannot establish what a player is feeling. The reaction online split along predictable lines. Some supporters read the body language as a player unhappy at the club. Others saw a player angry at not being part of the game he had waited all week to play, and argued that a substitute who desperately wanted in is not the same thing as a problem in the dressing room. One widely shared post captured the tone of the debate:
The Scene at Verde Valle on Monday
Whatever Saturday night looked like, Monday told a different part of the story. ESPN reporter Jesús Bernal filmed Carrillo at Verde Valle as the team returned to training, on a day when academy tryouts had drawn an unusually large crowd of supporters. Carrillo got out of his car to sign autographs and pose for photos, something Bernal noted most players do not do, since they usually attend fans through an open window. Bernal added that Carrillo has quickly become one of the players most willing to spend time with the fans, and that the affection runs both ways.
What Comes Next for Carrillo at Chivas de Guadalajara
The next data point arrives on Saturday, when Chivas de Guadalajara host Tigres UANL at Estadio Akron. Chivas could be missing up to seven players through injury, doubt and Kevin Castaneda’s suspension, which makes it close to a now or never night for Carrillo’s minutes. If the marquee summer signing still cannot get off the bench on a night like that, the photo from the Jalisco will stop looking like one bad moment and start looking like his place in the project. U.S. viewers can find how to watch the Tigres UANL match in our Chivas de Guadalajara viewing guide.
