Game 14: Pumas 1 - 2 Cruz Azul

Video

In an entertaining game in CU, Pumas once again were unable to work out how to win against an enterprising cementero team, for whom Miguel Sabah and "el chelito" Delgado were the stars. The same old Pumas failings were present: of controlling a game but failing to take the chances that came their way; of inattention down the flanks; of receiving the ball too often stationary and with the back to goal. Cruz Azul stay in contention for qualification in group 3, while Pumas still cling on to second in group one due to a strange Pachuca defeat in Monterrey, and Puebla were unable to move much closer after a drab draw against Veracruz.

Pumas started with a familiar formation: Barrera wide right, Sambueza on the left, and the Castro-Leandro axis in the centre. Bernal is clearly still not fit and his place in goal was taken by Patiño with Palacios moving up to the bench. In the first fifteen minutes Pumas had marginally the better of it, with Solari missing a free header from a neat Barrera cross eight yards out, and Leandro blasting wide when the ball fell loose to him on the edge of the box. Meanwhile Sabah had come closest for Cruz Azul at the other end, stabbing an excellent Delgado cross lamely at Patiño.

Cruz Azul then had their best spell of the first half, again prompted by Delgado as he put in a dangerous ball from the right which just went over the head of Sabah who was in the clear. And then there were calls for a penalty on 20 minutes when Moreno, who had earlier been booked for nothing much, was accused of handling as Chelito flicked through. The ball appeared to hit the top of the chest - shoulder area and Moreno was withdrawing his arm, but the call could have gone either way. Luckily for the university team, at that point, and in my view rightly, the referee waved play on.

The game then went rather quiet as both teams looked to consolidate, but towards the end of the half Pumas again gained the upper hand. Solari headed straight into "el conejo"'s arms after good work from Sambueza, and a series of corners resulted in a weak Pumas header rolling easily to Pérez. And right on half time Solari was unable to strike cleanly when the ball fell to him about 12 yards out and it was deflected for a corner.

At half time, Pumas on balance were slightly the better team. The game was being played at a faster pace than normal in CU (perhaps due to the colder weather in D.F.)and Barrera and Sambueza had both been lively.

The first ten minutes of the second half were full of incident and drama. Chelito had switched flanks to the left and was looking dangerous and on 47 minutes he swung in a nice cross towards the far post. Sabah arrived marked by Velarde. There was no contact whatsoever (in fact clear daylight between the players) but as Sabah fell to the floor referee José Abramo mystifyingly awarded a penalty. Sabah stood up to convert confidently from the spot and Cruz Azul were one up.

I really do hope that the referee was not trying to "make up" for the first half incident with Moreno. It is the sort of dreadful decision that makes a mockery of Mexican football. And it is not an isolated incident in the Mexican top flight. San Luis were awarded a similarly incorrect penalty on Friday night which thankfully was missed and did not affect the result (San Luis beat Tecos 3-2). And to make matters worse Verón was booked for encroaching at the penalty when half the players of both teams were doing likewise.

To give credit to Pumas they picked themselves up after the goal and Solari had a half chance as he took the ball again with his back to goal, he just failed to reach an inviting cross from Scocco, and Scocco was cautioned for diving when on another day a penalty might have been awarded (in my view it was clearly not a penalty but there was contact between the players and the card was excessive). Similarly Castro picked up a yellow for a tackle from behind on Delgado.

Then on 56 minutes Pumas were level. A darting run by Sambueza drew three defenders and the ball broke to Solari on the left hand edge of the penalty area and he finished with a thundering left foot drive that gave Pérez no chance. It was no more than Pumas deserved and Espinoza had started to get the measure of Delgado. Five minutes later and Moreno went close with a header from a Leandro corner. Cruz Azul needed to change something and they brought on Nuñez and Velasco.

For some reason Tuca decided that Pumas too needed to change things. The team was on top, the game was there for the taking, and mysteriously he brought off Scocco who had been a problem for the cementero defence as he drifted in front of them, to bring on Palencia who proceeded to play slowly and predictably down the inside-right channel. Solari and Paco are too similar to play together yet Ferretti insists on bringing off Scocco in these situations. With Iñiguez coming on he was clearly trying to keep the balance, but Pumas do not need to play with two static forwards who constantly have their back to goal.

Nevertheless the game was opening up now anyone's for the taking, and it was Cruz Azul who took the chance. On 69 minutes Delgado swept to the by-line past a sleeping defence from a throw-in on the right and crossed expertly for Sabah to beat Espinoza and head home.

Again Pumas reacted positively, but by this time Cruz Azul had decided to sit back and play the game out, with the chance of a goal on the break. The referee also wielded another couple of pointless yellow cards for Velasco, Espinoza and Leandro. It has to be said, though, that Leandro often gets himself into trouble by failing to keep his opinions to himself when he feels the official has made a mistake.

As the game headed for the last ten minutes, Pumas should have been level. Leandro swung over an excellent corner, and Verón lost his marker but failed to take advantage of a gaping net from six yards out as he put his header wide. In this kind of match it is the sort of chance that needs to be taken.

Five minutes later Verón was off the field. After a wonderful piece of defending in which he outpaced Delgado, shielded the ball and steadied himself to clear, Verón was manhandled by the Argentinian who grabbed him with both hands. Rather than content himself with the free-kick however Verón tried to wrestle himself free and a flailing elbow gave Chelito the chance to throw himself on the floor with his head in his hands. There was contact and the referee was right to send Verón off, although in my opinion it should have been for a second yellow not a straight red, as there seemed to be no attempt to aim the elbow at Delgado.

By that time the game was over but there was just time for Patiño to earn himself a senseless booking by charging out of his area to commit an unnecessary foul.

One or two interesting points about the game. Firstly there was a female referee's assistant Isabel Tovar (with a rather fetching diagonal parting in her hair too). It is good to see the world of football embracing the possibility of female officials at the top level. Secondly there were large swathes of the stands in CU which were empty. I cannot believe it is because of the América v Chivas game later on, and the idea of emptying half the stands as a precaution against trouble is crazy. There were ten or fifteen metre sections cordoned off for this purpose, including between Pebetero and Cabecera Norte, both Pumas sections. It would be interesting to hear a rationale for this policy.

Goals
Sabah (pen)(47 minutes) 0-1
Solari (56) 1-1
Sabah (69) 1-2

Cards
Pumas: yellow: Moreno, Scocco, Castro, Espinoza, Leandro. red: Verón
Cruz Azul: yellow: Velasco, Delgado

Player Ratings

Patiño 6: nothing much wrong except his mad rush out at the end
Velarde 6: had trouble with Delgado but not to blame for the penalty
Espinoza 5: going through a bad patch and was to blame for both goals
Verón 6: excellent until his mad rush of blood
Moreno 6: very solid
Leandro 7: worked hard and behind Pumas best work
Castro 6: Not at his best but solid
Sambueza 8: dangerous. Always a threat.
Solari 6: gets into scoring positions but...(see previous games)
Scocco 6: mixed bag
Barrera 6: dangerous in the first half but faded
Palencia 5: poor
Iñiguez 5: did little

Tuca 5: Paco has done nothing to merit coming on, nor Iñiguez. They were changes for the sake of changes...

Elsewhere in Mexico
Toluca drew in Tuxtla to consolidate top of group one and move into second overall following Atlante's 2-0 home defeat to Necaxa. San Luis continued their good form while Santos put five past Atlas in the Jalisco. Monterrey beat Pachuca three one in a game with four sendings off, including the referee actually hitting a player while brandishing the yellow card. Arellano of Monterrey was understandably upset, but the referee decided to look for an excuse to send him off and found one within a minute. Madness. Finally in the clásico América edged past Chivas 2-1 in the Azteca with two goals from "el toro" Silva.

Next up
A tough game away midweek at Toluca.

Game 13: San Luis 3 - 2 Pumas

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After gifting an early two-goal lead to a competent San Luis side, then clawing their way back level, Pumas finally threw away all their hard work and gave San Luis a boost in tough group three. Amazingly Pachuca also lost so Pumas remain second on goal difference in group one.

The starting whistle had barely died away when San Luis went one up. Espinoza was caught napping down the left flank and Salinas put in a cross for Guerrero to finish with his head. Pumas started to reorganise but another 12 minutes later and they were two down - the ever dangerous Tressor Moreno breaking into Espinoza's channel again and crossing low. The ball was mis-controlled by Salinas but fell to "el Chango" Moreno who finished firmly past Bernal.

From this point in the first half Pumas struggled to gain parity in midfield, but Castro and Leandro did a good job of holding things together and the team started to look more solid. They even created a couple of chances from corners with Verón and Moreno going close. As they slowly gained the ascendancy a couple of chances also fell to Solari, one of which was a curious piece of play by the San Luis goalkeeper Martínez, who instead of trying to block a shot, just marked Solari until he made a mess of it.

Without ever looking fully convincing Pumas nevertheless got back into the game in the second half after a penalty on 51 minutes. Solari got free in the box, and was clearly impeded as he went to shoot. "El Tano" picked himself up to convert from the spot.

San Luis then came back into a match they had been sitting back on rather and in a play in which Bernal managed to injure himself by falling over without being touched, Tressor Moreno crossed for Salinas who managed to miss with a header when it was easier to put the ball into the empty net. Patiño came on for Bernal.

Iñiguez had come on for Sambueza, and ten minutes from the end it seemed as if he had saved a point for Pumas, firing in a close range header from a Barrera cross, but a free kick on the left in the dying minutes confused Patiño after a deflection and Alfredo Moreno bagged his fifteenth of the season for a hard-fought home win.

Goals
Guerrero (1 min) 1-0
A. Moreno (14) 2-0
Solari (pen)(51) 2-1
Iñigeuz (81) 2-2
A. Moreno (88) 3-2

Cards
Pumas: yellow: Moreno, Scocco; red: none
San Luis: yellow:Pérez, A.Moreno, I.Martínez, Valdez; red: none

Player Ratings
Bernal 6 - not at fault for the goals but looking creaky fitness-wise
Espinoza 5 - his worst showing of the season, at sea
Velarde 6 - tidy but San Luis's best work came down the flanks
Verón 7 - held the middle well
Moreno 6 - steady and a danger at corners
Leandro 7 - did a lot of tidying up and came into the game as it went along
Castro 6 - not as influential as one would like
Sambueza 6 - caused some trouble but needs to be more involved
Scocco 6 - got a bit frustrated
Barrera 6 - some good work but blew hot and cold
Solari 6 - got into good positions
Iñiguez 7 - made a difference when he came on
Patño 6 - kept tidily and not at fault for the goal
Chiapas - only on two minutes or so

Tuca 5 - don't think he tactically had an answer to San Luis's front three and Pumas were on the back foot.

Elsewhere in Mexico
In group one Toluca won again at home to Puebla and moved further ahead in group one. Pachuca are still third after losing to América. Santos qualified for the play-offs, beating Morelia 3-2 and Atlante look good for second in group 2 after drawing with Chivas. They and San Luis top group three with Cruz Azul just behind. Tigres meanwhile put four past Tecos in Monterrey.

Next Up
They don't get any easier do they? Cruz Azul at home - C.U. at 12 on Sunday.

Game 12: Pumas 3 - 0 Tigres

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In a curiously unexciting game in CU Pumas managed to waste a host of chances and still run out 3-0 winners over a desperately limited Tigres side. The boys from the University of Nuevo Leon are now in poor shape in the relegation table, only propped up by Veracruz. Pumas meanwhile moved back into second place in group 1 and to fifth overall.

Because of the absences of Castro and Verón on international duty (am I the only one who thinks that being obliged to play in a friendly international instead of a competitive club game is lunacy?) Pumas lined up with Carlos Humberto González at the back, and Jehu Chiapas in midfield as he was last week. Fernando Espinoza made a welcome return and both Sambueza and Barrera started.

Right from the off Pumas were in control of the game, and Tigres looked as poor as their position in the table suggests. Despite spending a good deal of money over the summer things have not really worked out for them. Scocco and Solari, the up-front Argentinian duo seemed to be falling over themselves to miss chances, one in particular from Solari which he spooned over the bar from close range was particularly spectacular. Nevertheless Solari showed he his much more comfortable with his head and after twenty minutes finally put Pumas into the lead, from a Scocco cross.

Tigres meanwhile offered little in return apart from a few aimless crosses, but they must have had a stern talking to at half time, because they emerged with much more purpose and for the first 15 minutes or so of the second half they had Pumas on the back foot (a poor-looking Kikín having been replaced by García). They created very few clear openings but there was a free kick that went just wide and a couple of half-decent shots from distance. Then it looked like Tigres were level but León's effort was ruled out for offside. The through ball was just touched by Marino and the call was good.

Almost immediately Pumas were two up. Saucedo fluffed his save from a sharp long-range effort from Scocco, and Sambueza pounced to flick the ball in with the outside of his boot. From then on there was no way back, and although Pumas created nothing special they were always in control and were gifted a third goal on 76 minutes when a Solari header from a Leandro free kick hit a Tigres hand and Scocco powerfully converted from the spot.

Barrera in the first half and Leandro in the second were the players who stood out for Pumas, and it was nice to see youngsters come on at the end, with Salvador Medina making his debut. Meanwhile Marino contrived to get himself sent off when making a senseless challenge on Velarde.

Goals
Solari (20 mins) 1-0
Sambueza (61) 2-0
Scocco (pen)(76) 3-0

Cards
Pumas yellow: Velarde, González, Leandro
Tigres yellow: Ruiz, Cubero, Ayala, Chávez; red: Marino (2 yellows)

Player ratings:
Bernal 6 - made one good save near the end and had a comfortable afternoon otherwise.
Velarde 6 - untroubled
Espinoza 7 - impresses me more and more
Gonzalez 6 - Solid but needs to work on distribution
Moreno 7 - Sound, but looks better alongside Verón
Leandro 7 - Got through a lot of work
Barrera 8 - Parejita who?
Sambueza 7 - caused some trouble
Scocco 7 - redeemed himself with a good pen and assists for the goal
Solari 6 - poor but still scored
Iñiguez 5 - did little to change the game
Santana & Medina - only on for a few minutes.

Tuca 8 - rearranged the team well with the absences of Verón, Palencia, Castro and Diego. Lucky to have such poor opposition.

Elsewhere in Mexico

Well, well. The top two, Santos and Atlante both lost, Santos surprisingly to Tecos, and Atlante to Pachuca, but they still remain in the top two spots. Toluca consolidated third place and top of group one with Wednesday night's draw in Monterrey, while Chivas smashed five past Necaxa to stay top of group three. América's poor run continues with a nil all draw at home to Veracruz.

Next up
A tricky away tie in San Luis on Saturday afternoon.

Game 11: Santos 3 - 2 Pumas

Video

In a very even game marred by some rather odd refereeing, Pumas lost their unbeaten run while Santos, not without some trouble, regained top spot in the general classification after momentarily being overtaken by Atlante.

Pumas were forced into several changes due to injury, and as a result looked a little unsteady. Leandro had not recovered from last weeks knock on the thigh, and more surprisingly Espinoza was unavailable. This forced Tuca to revert Castro to right back, and people the midield with Alex Diego and Jehu Chiapas, with Barrera wide right and a slightly advanced Nacho Scocco. Unfortunately the momentum gained from the solidity of the Leandro-Castro axis in the middle of the park was lost, although both Chiapas and Diego acquitted themselves well.

Yet again the game was played with a pink ball, and this time I also noticed the little pink ribbons on the players´shoulders. Again, breast-cancer awareness is a worthy cause. It was also played in the hot afternoon sun, with temperatures of around 35 degrees, which made the efforts of both teams all the more admirable.

The game began very evenly, with both sides moving rapidly through the midfield area, but unable to penetrate the defensive lines. Santos had a chance very early on when their most irritating player Vuoso had a shot saved by Bernal, while at the other end Solari headed straight into the hands of Becerra. If anything, as the half progressed Pumas began to assert more control and the experience and calm of Veron began to influence Chiapas and Diego. By the time Palencia once again missed a good opportunity after being put in the clear through the inside-right channel (to be fair it was a good stop by Becerra) Pumas had gained the ascendancy.

And just before half time their control was rewarded by a lovely goal from Barrera. Making space for himself on the edge of the area he fired a low shot into the corner off his weaker left foot giving the keeper no chance. Meanwhile Ricardo Arellano the referee had booked Luduena for a clear dive (and not for his awful flat-top haircut), but just before half time he inexplicably failed to see a similar dive from Benitez after an unsteady charge out of goal by Bernal, and awarded a highly dubious penalty which Luduena converted. Clearly if there was contact (which there was not) Bernal should have been sent off, but he received only a yellow. All in all disappointing refereeing, but it left the scores level at half time.

The shadows were lengthening in the second half and it became more and more difficult to see certain areas of the field. Santos started the half the brighter, but it was Pumas who took the lead again from a very nice solo play by Scocco, advancing into the area on the right, shrugging off three defenders, and putting the ball through Becerra´s legs after 52 minutes. But as so often this season Pumas got into a winning position and were unable to keep control of the game. Only three minutes later Santos were level after poor defending at the back post from a corner, as Benitez swivelled well to score from five yards out.

As the game moved towards its conclusion, with both teams working hard to get forward but creating few chances, the referee contrived to send two players off, Luduena for a very harsh deliberate hand ball, and Diego for little more than making a tackle. And so both teams entered the last ten minutes with ten men.

Pumas made three late substituions, bringing on Sambueza, Iniguez and Gonzalez, but it was a Santos substitue who decided the game. Santos brought on Peralta, who made a lovely break through inside left drawing Bernal out of the goal. Curiously of the three Pumas defenders deep in their own box, none thought to mark Benitez who headed home from the resulting Peralta cross with no-one near. Ultimately the lack of Leandro and the confidence of being on top of the table proved crucial for the Laguneros. Pumas, however stay second in group one after Pachuca´s loss.

Goals
Barrera (43 mins) 0-1
Luduena (pen, 45) 1-1
Scocco (52) 1-2
Benitez (55) 2-2
Benitez (83) 3-2

Cards
Yellow
Pumas: Bernal, Palencia
Santos: Vuoso, Castillo, Jimenez
Red
Pumas: Diego (2 yellows)
Santos: Luduena (2 yellows)

Player Ratings
Bernal 6 - a couple of good saves from long range shots, but his rushes out for the first and third goals were not well timed
Velarde 7 - untroubled and got forward on occasion
Castro 7 - his influence was missed in the middle but secure
Veron 7 - calm at the back
Moreno 7 - again unruffled
Diego 6 - good effort but he is not Castro (or Leandro)
Chiapas 6 - tried hard in the absence of Leandro
Barrera 7 - good but still think he looks better on the left
Scocco 7 - excellent goal but wish he had been a bit more involved
Palencia 5 - looked slow and he must finish when he has the chance
Solari 5 - looked what he is: a one paced forward who is moderately good in the air.
Iniguez 5 - tried hard down the right but with little joy
Sambueza 5 - didn´t see much of him after he came on
Gonzalez - only on for a few minutes

Tuca 6 - a good attempt to shuffle the team round after key injuries. Do we not have another right back in the squad? I think we should be staying with Castro in defensive midfield.

Elsewhere in Mexico
Atlante keep winning, this time in Veracruz, and so stay second overall and in group 2. Pachuca lost to Chivas, a good result for Pumas, while Toluca pulled away at the top of group one after beating now managerless America 3-1. Chivas and Cruz Azul (who beat Monterrey) were the big winners in group three and are now first and second there, and fourth and fifth overall.

Next Up
An eminently winnable home game on Sunday against Tigres.

Game 10: Pumas 3 - 2 Atlas

Pumas moved into a qualifying position in their group with a rather jittery 3-2 victory over Atlas, who remain without a single win yet this season. Once again Esteban Solari was the goalscoring hero, while old boy Bruno Marioni, returning to the stadium where he enjoyed title success with the university club in 2004, bagged a brace to keep local fans on tenterhooks till the final whistle.

Pumas started a lifeless first half with the same team that started last week, Scocco clearly fit again after last week's niggle. A strong bench included Paco, Sambueza, Chiapas and Diego, all with some experience of first team football. Curiously the match was played with a (rather hideously designed) pink ball. This is the first time I have seen this in top flight football, but was apparently to raise awareness of breast cancer.

Neither side really impressed during the first forty-five minutes, although Pumas had the best of the chances. Barrera impressed on the left and got in a couple of dangerous crosses with his weaker left foot, as well as hitting the top of the bar after cutting onto his right foot at the edge of the area. Iñiguez also missed a chance after a poor clearance from Hernández fell at his feet about 8 yards out, but his first-time effort flashed wide. The Castro - Leandro axis was not working as smoothly as last week, although with little pressure from Atlas. But neither side was precise passing out of defence and Nacho Scocco and "el tano" Solari for Pumas, and "el barrullo" Marioni and "el negro" Medina pressured the respective defenders hard.

The one clear chance of the half fell to Scocco who controlled a Velarde centre pushing the ball first time past the defender, but his first time shot skidded across the face of the goal, and left the scoresheet blank at half time.

There had been little to suggest a five goal second half, but the lack of precision of the first half suddenly started leading to mistakes. Curiously Tuca moved Barrera from the left where he had been dangerous,in order to accomodate Sambueza, and he moved to the right as Iñiguez was withdrawn after a limp first half. And immediately Sambueza had an impact, feeding Velarde on the left whose wonderful cross was expertly headed over the head of Hernández into the far corner by Solari, this after barely 15 seconds of the restart.

While Atlas pushed forward in search of an equaliser, they had created very little when they went further behind just before the hour mark. Flores who had just come on put Ayala under pressure from a throw-in near his own corner flag on the right-hand side, and Ayala's miscontrol was seized on by Scocco who advanced into the box and slid the ball across to Solari for a simple tap-in, and his eighth goal of the campaign.

That seemed to be game over, but a crass error from Pumas soon brought the "zorros" back into it as Castro and Moreno managed to have a complete misunderstanding over a simple clearance and the ball was stolen by Olivera. He threaded a lovely ball through to Marioni alone near the penalty spot and his sliding first time contact beat Bernal to bring Atlas back into contention. Amazingly Pumas reponded immediately as Solari headed down a long Bernal clearance and Scocco showed good pace to plant a left-foot shot in the bottom right-hand corner.

Yet still Pumas looked nervous and Atlas had more chances in the last twenty minutes than in the rest of the game. Leandro went off with an injury, and Diego had less control in the middle, and then Scocco came off presumably for Paco to tighten things up, but he looked a little short of match sharpness and failed to finish a good chance in the box after being put through by Sambueza. With fifteen minutes to go there was yet again only one goal in it. When the ball was lost in midfield Verón was hopelessly out of position and Marioni slid between him and Moreno to finish well - curiously not celebrating his goals in his normal flamboyant way, supposedly out of respect for his old team.

There was still time for Barrios and Medina to blow a gilt-edged chance for a draw at the death as they were denied first by Velarde and then Bernal's legs. Pumas clung on nervously for a valuable win in CU.

Pumas now go above Pachuca in group 1 on goal difference only three points behind Toluca, and into fifth in the general classification.

Cards
Yellow: Pumas - Sambueza and Barrera
Atlas - Valdéz, Valenzuela, Medina
Red: None

Goals
Solari 46 (1-0)
Solari 59 (2-0)
Marioni 65 (2-1)
Scocco 66 (3-1)
Marioni 77 (3-2)

Player ratings

Bernal 8 - no real chance with the goals, secure on crosses, good stop late on and long clearance led to Scocco goal.
Espinoza 8 - very tight on the right hand side and got forward too.
Moreno 5 - a lot of mistakes this week and poor distribution
Verón 6 - mistakes too. not up to his normal high standards
Velarde 7 - was dangerous going forward and never shirked his defensive duties.
Castro 6 - well short of last week and mistake for first goal
Leandro 6 - subdued and imprecise
Barrera 7 - excellent first half, but much quieter after moving to the right
Iñiguez 4 - can't remember him doing a single decent thing all first half
Scocco 8 - well taken goal and assist
Solari 9 (MOM)- continues to score. Fabulous header for first goal
Sambueza 7 - good second half show and crosses well
Diego 5 - looked weak in the middle
Palencia 5 - you can see why Tuca starts with Solari and Scocco

Tuca 7 - looked apoplectic when Pumas looked like throwing it away. Right to bring off Iñiguez and Leandro withdrawal was forced.

Elsewhere in Mexico
San Luis and their prolific striker "el chango" Moreno moved to the top of group three after another brace helped them to a 3-2 win in Monterrey. Atlante won again, beating Toluca 2-0 in Cancún and stay second overall while Santos drew 2-2 in Chiapas but stay top, both overall and in group 2. Toluca stay top of group one despite their loss. And in the all chilango affair in the Azteca, Cruz Azul and América shared the honours 2-2 with a brace from Rodrigo López for the águilas.

Next up
A difficult trip to Torreón, Coahuila to face leaders Santos on Sunday afternoon.