Juan Antonio Pizzi (L) has been confirmed as the new head coach of Chile.
REUTERS MEXICO CITY – New Chile coach Juan Antonio Pizzi made a losing departure from León after a 3-1 defeat away to champions UANL Tigres in his final Mexican championship match in charge. Pizzi, who is replacing departed 2015 Copa America-winning coach Jorge Sampaoli, is due in Santiago during the week to take charge of the Chile team with his place at León being taken by former Mexico coach Luis Fernando Tena. “This was my last match with León. Unfortunately we couldn’t get the result we wanted,” the Argentine told reporters after Saturday’s match. He said coaching León had helped him obtain the Chile job, saying: “I think I got chose, among other reasons, because León gave me the chance to work in football as competitive as this (in Mexico).” France striker Andre-Pierre Gignac scored a first half hat-trick as Tigres romped to victory toppling León from first place in the Clausura championship standings. León stay on nine points, one point behind new leaders Pachuca, the only remaining unbeaten team after four matches following their 3-1 home win over Monterrey. Guadalajara continue to be haunted by relegation fears after a 2-0 loss at Morelia, their seventh league match without victory dating back to the Apertura championship in the first half of the season, in a clash of teams fighting to avoid the drop in May. Guadalajara, whose Argentine coach Matías Almeyda insists they need all the time available to work on improving, are embroiled in a row with the Mexican federation FMF over the release of players to the national team for a friendly against Senegal on Feb. 10, arguing it is not a FIFA international date. Elsewhere in the Liga MX, 2015 champions Santos continued their strong recent form with a 2-0 victory over Querétaro, Cruz Azul overcame Chiapas 2-1 and Club América got back to winning ways with an impressive 3-0 win over Dorados.
