Last Updated on April 23, 2026 12:30 pm by ZUWP Automation
Necaxa 0-0 Guadalajara: Six saves from the goalkeeper and a late red card define a goalless Clausura stalemate
Neither side could find the breakthrough at Necaxa’s ground on Thursday evening, as a tense, increasingly fractious 0-0 draw left both clubs searching for answers in the Clausura 2025/26. For Necaxa, it was a fourth draw in their last five matches, a winless run that is beginning to look like a structural problem rather than a blip. For Guadalajara, a side that had just thrashed Puebla 5-0 four days earlier, the failure to convert 19 shots into a single goal will sting considerably.
The Goalkeeper Who Kept the Score Level
The story of this match belongs, above all else, to Necaxa’s goalkeeper. He finished with six saves, two of them inside the box, and a match rating of 8.09 — comfortably the highest of any player on the pitch. Without him, this was not a draw.
Guadalajara controlled 57 per cent of possession and generated 19 shots across 90 minutes, with six of those on target. Their number 10 was the most persistent threat, registering five shots and three on target in 66 minutes before being withdrawn. He carried an xG of 0.16 for the afternoon, respectable enough, but the goalkeeper was equal to everything he offered.
The visiting side also struck the woodwork once, a moment that summed up the afternoon: plenty of pressure, nothing to show for it. Their number 11 created three chances and carried the biggest individual xG of any Guadalajara outfield player at 0.26, but also missed the match’s one clear big chance. From those two shots, he produced a combined shooting performance of -0.26 against expected output. The margins were cruel, but the profligacy was real.
A Match That Grew Uglier as It Wore On
The first meaningful disciplinary moment came in the 40th minute, a yellow card for a foul that set the tone for a second half that would become increasingly tetchy. Guadalajara made a first substitution at the 56th minute, then sent on three more players simultaneously at the hour mark as they chased the goal their possession warranted. A fifth change followed at 66 minutes.
The temperature rose sharply at 73 minutes. Both sides received bookings simultaneously, the cards issued for arguments rather than fouls, which told you something about how the mood had shifted. A Necaxa player was then booked at 74 minutes and substituted off immediately after. Two further yellow cards arrived at 77 minutes, one for a foul, another with no specific infraction recorded. A Guadalajara player was cautioned at 78 minutes for time-wasting, which felt like its own small irony given they were the side still searching for a winner.
The final act of the evening was the most dramatic. Deep into stoppage time, a Necaxa player was shown a straight red card for a foul. It came too late to alter the result, but it leaves Necaxa with a suspension to manage heading into their next fixture, and it coloured the final whistle with something close to chaos. Six yellow cards were distributed across the two sides in total, three apiece.
The Statistical Picture: Dominance Without Reward
Guadalajara’s statistical superiority was thorough. They completed 375 passes to Necaxa’s 266, registered 43 dangerous attacks to Necaxa’s 45, and attempted 17 crosses compared to Necaxa’s eight. Their pass success rate of 82 per cent outpaced Necaxa’s 78 per cent. On paper, this was a match Guadalajara should have won.
But Necaxa’s defensive structure, deployed in a 4-4-2, held firm for long enough. They attempted only eight shots all afternoon, with just one on target, and created no big chances of their own. Their number 35 in attack worked hardest in possession, taking three shots and winning five of eleven duels, but his xG of 0.15 from those efforts never seriously threatened the Guadalajara goalkeeper, who was called upon only once all match.
The one area where Necaxa matched their visitors was in dangerous attacks: 45 to Guadalajara’s 43. That near-parity in that particular metric, despite the gulf in possession and shot volume, suggests Necaxa defended deep and looked to threaten on the break rather than build through the thirds. It was a functional approach that ultimately yielded a point, nothing more.
Guadalajara’s number 5 was one of the more complete performers for the visitors, winning four of five aerial duels, completing 36 of 46 passes, and contributing six ball recoveries across 90 minutes. He was a composed presence in a match that grew less composed as the evening progressed.
Where Both Sides Stand
Necaxa came into this fixture without a win in their previous four outings, drawing three of them, and they leave with that run extended to five matches without victory: four draws and one defeat. Guadalajara’s own recent form has been uneven, with two wins and two losses in their last five before this fixture, and a draw against a side as limited in attack as Necaxa will be a source of frustration in the dressing room. With standings points data unavailable for this fixture, the precise table implications cannot be stated, but the pattern is clear enough: Guadalajara’s Liguilla ambitions require more clinical finishing than they produced here, and Necaxa’s inability to win a match is a concern that four successive draws cannot paper over. The Clausura is unforgiving of sides that only take one point when they need three.