Pumas de la U.N.A.M. vs. Cruz Azul: 1-2 Full Time, Chaco Gimenez Steals The Show

Dante Lopez’s opener had Cruz Azul fans shaking in their boots, but the spectacular Christian Gimenez scored two ridiculous goals to give the Blue Machine an almost insurmountable lead going back to Estadio Azul. With Pumas needing to win by two goals on the road to get through to the next round, qualification for the semifinals seems all but wrapped up for Cruz Azul.

The first goal of the match came as part of a good setup by Pumas. While Cruz Azul had controlled most of the possession to start the game, they didn’t do a whole lot with it and Pumas actually looked like the more dangerous team. The talent and hard work of their strikers paid off in the 19th minute when Martin Bravo centered a ball for Dante Lopez who finished well past Jesus Corona to give Pumas the lead.

Cruz Azul’s equalizer came in the 33rd minute off of a ridiculous long range free kick from Gimenez, taken from somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 yards. His shot deflected off of Horacio Cervantes and bounced into the goal off the post, creating an unsavable shot for Sergio Bernal.

Chaco’s second goal came in the second half, after Pumas had been threatening to score for some time. The hosts came out of the locker room the much better team, but one moment of quality was all Cruz Azul needed to take a lead back home to Estadio Azul. Jehu Chiapas cleared a ball out of his box, but it fell straight to Gimenez who hit a stunning volley into the back of the net from 20 yards.

The two Gimenez goals have to be seen to be believed, so we’ll be sure to get some video up for you in the morning, as well as previews of the two Liguilla matches on Thursday that see Monterrey go away to Pachuca and Santos Laguna go away to Jaguares de Chiapas. Cristian Benitez played 80 minutes for Ecuador on Wednesday while Humberto Suazo played 61 minutes for Chile, so it’s likely that neither will start. Monterrey’s Walter Ayovi also started for Ecuador while Jaguares’ Jackson Martinez participated in a friendly for Colombia. Interestingly enough, Colombian Carlos Darwin Quintero of Santos, Jaguares’ opponent, was not called into the national team. Conspiracy theorists, get your tin foil hats on.