Pachuca vs Pumas starred in the best match of the first round of the Clausura Tournament in the Liga MX. The Hidalgo Stadium was the scene of a match that had five goals in 90 minutes. The Pumas of the UNAM started off on the right foot and comfortably took a 2-0 lead; however, the visitors gathered their courage and managed to achieve the feat to secure three points in the standings.
In a very close match in the first few minutes, Pachuca opened the scoring through Jara in the 35th minute. After a great assist from his teammate Guzman, the home team took the lead on their own merit. The spotlight continued for the home team and four minutes later the Japanese player Honda made it 2-0.
Just when things seemed comfortable for Pachuca, Nicolas Castillo appeared in the 45th minute to reduce the deficit and level the score. In the 53rd minute, Gallardo managed to equalize after a defensive error allowed the Pumas to enter the area for parity.
Pachuca started to feel the pressure as the home team and anxiety played against them in their search for a third goal. On the other hand, Pumas remained calm and gradually started to tilt the field in their favor to score the third and decisive goal in the 76th minute.
Nicolas Castillo found space and took advantage of Alustiza's pass to beat goalkeeper Blanco, silencing the Estadio Hidalgo and taking the three points home.
In the second round, Pachuca will visit America, while Pumas will host Atlas at the Estadio Olimpico Universitario.
Pachuca vs Pumas | minute by minute
Pachuca vs Pumas | lineups
- Pachuca: Blanco, Murillo, González, García, Martínez, Hernández, Gutiérrez, Guzmán, Aguirre, Honda, and Jara.
- Pumas: Saldívar, Fuentes, Alejandro Arribas, Van Rankin, Quintana, Fórmica, Díaz, Cabrera, Gallardo, Acosta, and Castillo.
- Stadium: Hidalgo Pachuca de Soto
- Referee: Jonathan Hernández.
Pachuca vs Pumas | preview
Coach David Patiño will have the task of bringing back Pumas' prominence and cleaning up their reputation after poor results in 2017 under Juan Francisco Palencia and Sergio Egea. The board bet on a homegrown man, although he had already had experience on the bench with Monarcas Morelia, Patiño was a homegrown player and champion with Pumas in his playing days.
Leaving behind the bitter 2017, this new year is an opportunity for Pumas to return to the top of the Liga MX and for that, they decided to strengthen themselves with Spanish defender Alejandro Arribas, the return of Luis Fuentes, and forwards Matias Alustiza and Colombian Yuber Asprilla.
Meanwhile, the departures were Uruguayan Gerardo Alcoba and Chilean Bryan Rabello, who migrated to Santos Laguna.
Pumas' pending debt is that they have not reached a Play Off since the Apertura 2016, a difficult mission that they will have to accomplish this semester. In addition to returning to the playoffs, the team's demand is to accumulate important points to avoid relegation problems, even thinking about the next Apertura 2018.
On the other hand, Pachuca will have to start on the right foot as the home team. There are five reinforcements for the Hidalgo team: Gambian forward Kekuta Manneh; Dairon Mosquera, Colombian left-back; Sebastian Palacios, also a player who arrives to support in attack; Paraguayan forward Walter Gonzalez, and the return of an idol for the Tuzos, Christian 'Chaco' Gimenez.