Pumas vs Cruz Azul: A Rivalry That Feels Like a Clásico

Pumas vs Cruz Azul: A Rivalry That Feels Like a Clásico

Pumas and Cruz Azul aren’t supposed to be a “Clásico.” Mexican football already has two of them: América against Guadalajara, and América against just about everyone else in Mexico City. But if you watched Sunday night at the Estadio Olímpico Universitario, you’d have a hard time arguing this one doesn’t belong in the conversation.

The game finished 3-3. Six goals, a red card, a two-goal comeback and a last-gasp equalizer. It had everything except a winner.

A Sunday night that refused to behave

Pumas came out flying. Juninho opened the scoring in the 10th minute, and César “Chino” Huerta made it 2-0 six minutes later. Then Huerta got himself sent off before halftime, and you could almost feel the whole stadium exhale at once. Playing the rest of a derby with ten men is not where any coach wants to be.

Cruz Azul pulled one back just before the break through Agustín Palavecino, a scissor-kick finish inside the box after a sharp passing move and a headed assist from Jorge Rodarte. You’d think a team with an extra man would take over from there. Not quite. Four minutes into the second half, Robert Morales beat his marker, got past goalkeeper Kevin Mier and made it 3-1 for the home side. Pumas looked ready to pull off something special.

Then the game turned. Andrés Montaño made it 3-2 in the 64th minute, and the pressure kept building. In the 85th, Christian Ebere, the Nigerian forward, pushed in a cross at the far post, and it was 3-3. Cruz Azul coach Joel Huiqui reportedly called it “30 disastrous minutes” afterward, which tells you how little he enjoyed the stretch where his team went two goals down.

The draw leaves Cruz Azul seventh with 17 points and Pumas 12th with 13. It also extended Cruz Azul’s unbeaten run at CU to more than 30 games. For Pumas, it was one more home game without beating their neighbors, something they haven’t managed in Liga MX in five years.

What the result says about both teams

On paper, Cruz Azul arrived in better shape. They are the reigning league champions, they sat higher in the table, and they had history on their side at this ground. Pumas, under coach Esteban Solari, have been up and down all season and came in needing a statement result.

For about an hour, they delivered one. Juninho has now scored six goals this Apertura, and his goal on Sunday showed why. He took the ball from midfield, drove into the box and finished across Mier with his left foot. Huerta looked just as dangerous until his red card changed the night.

The frustrating part for Pumas is that they did almost everything right with ten men and still came away with one point. The frustrating part for Cruz Azul is that they needed a late rescue against a team that played more than half the game a player short. Both sets of fans left with a reason to be annoyed, which is exactly how a good rivalry works.