Mexican Primera Division, Clausura Round 3: Cruz Azul And Pumas de la UNAM Draw 3-3 In An Instant Classic

Cruz Azul versus Pumas de la UNAM isn’t a standard Clasico, but it certainly felt like it in a 3-3 thriller at Estadio Azul. The hosts felt comfortable going into halftime with a 2-0 lead, but Pumas scored three unanswered goals to take a 3-2 lead of their own and get themselves into position to take a crucial three road points against their Group Three rivals. It wasn’t to be, though, as Cruz Azul found the equalizer shortly afterwards.

Cruz Azul’s two first half goals both came off set pieces, with Emmanuel Villa and Horacio Cervantes putting in less than stellar goals. It was a lucky first half for the Blue Machine, with the match being fairly even outside of the goals. The second half was a completely different story, with Pumas coming out hungry and looking to get back into the match. Their first goal was scored in the 59th minute by Juan Cacho, assisted by Martin Bravo, shortly after Pumas should have been granted a penalty kick.

Pumas de la UNAM have played well for most of the first half of their match against Cruz Azul, but it’s the hosts that have a 2-0 lead at Estadio Azul thanks to some decent finishing and some awful luck from the visitors. Emmanuel Villa and Horacio Cervantes scored the goals, but incredibly, Cervantes’ did not come with his head. Both goals came off set pieces, and Cruz Azul have struggled to create from open play.

The first goal came in the 24th minute off of a scramble. Cruz Azul had multiple chances and Alejandro Palacios made multiple saves before Villa finally poked home his goal to give Cruz Azul a 1-0 lead. That lead doubled in the 35th minute when Cervantes hit a weak right footed shot from 20 yards out that deflected off defender Marco Antonio Palacios. The deflection left his goalkeeper frozen in place and the ball dribbled into the back of the net.

Cruz Azul and Pumas de la UNAM have put out lineups with no surprises for their psuedo-derby match at Estadio Azul. Pumas appear to be lining up in a 3-4-3 setup. It would be a bit of a stretch to call Pumas’ wide players “wing backs.” Luis Fernando Fuentes and Javier Cortez are wingers more than they are defenders. Pumas’ defenders and defensive midfielders are good enough that those players aren’t sucked into as many defensive responsibilities as most traditional wing backs. It’s ambitious to say the least, but it worked against Pumas. It wouldn’t be stunning to see them switch into something more traditional later in the game, though. Cruz Azul will deploy their normal 4-4-2 setup with right midfielder “Chaco” Cristian Gimenez drifting into the center and playing more of a No. 10’s role than a right wing role.

Cruz Azul lineup (4-4-2): Corona ; Pinto, Cervantes, Ponce, Chavez ; Drougett, Pineda, Palau, Gimenez ; Orozco, Villa

Necaxa and Atlas are scoreless after 45 minutes, but the match hasn’t been without entertainment. Unfortunately, a lot of that entertainment has to do with referee Jesús Fabricio Morales Bojórquez calling an incredibly poor match, but entertainment is entertainment! For the lovers of defense and Chicago Fire fans in the house, Atlas defender Wilman Conde has been spectacular in the first half.

Despite that, Conde found himself as part of some drama in the opening minutes. While he was defending Sergio Blanco, the Necaxa forward accidentally tripped in the box. The referee, stunningly, called a free kick outside of the box and gave a yellow card to Conde. There was no foul committed on the play, but if Conde did indeed make contact with Blanco, the referee would have had no choice but to grant a penalty kick and show Conde a straight red card for denying a clear goal scoring opportunity. Instead of picking one or the other, the referee showed a complete lack of bottle by granting the non-existent middle ground of a free kick from 19 yards and a yellow card.

When I pulled up lineups for tonight’s matches, the first thing I thought was “shenanigans.” Gerardo Espinoza is not included in tonight’s Atlas lineup. He was listed as “questionable” earlier in the week, but I’m still surprised to see that Atlas’s captain and arguably their best player is supposedly not included tonight. Luis Robles is set to take his place. Otherwise, they make no changes from the lineup they played against Queretaro. Necaxa have made no changes from the side that lost 1-0 to Tigres, with Dario Gandin starting the match on the bench once again.

Necaxa lineup (4-4-2): Perez / Ibarra, Cervantes, Quatrocchi, Castro / Barbosa, Salazaar, Perez, Silva / Suarez, Blanco