MEXICO CITY. Cruz Azul overcame Pumas UNAM to win 2-1. It was Cruz Azul to strike first with a goal of I. Rivero at the 29′. Then it was a goal in the 30′ minute to make things even for 1-1. Eventually, J. Escobar gave the win to Cruz Azul in the 70′ minute with a goal.

A. L. Lillini received a red card (72′)​. This red card was one of the reason why Pumas UNAM lost the match.

The match was played at the Estadio Azteca stadium in Mexico City on Saturday and it started at 7:00 pm local time. The referee was Fernando Hernández Gómez with the support of José Martínez and Michel Ricardo Espinoza Avalos. The 4th official was Ismael Rosario Lopez Peñuelas. The weather was clear. The temperature was cold at 13.6 degrees Celsius or 56.43 Fahrenheit. The humidity was 51%.​

Match Statistics​

Ball possession

None of the teams was particularly dominant in terms of ball possession. Cruz Azul was in possession of the ball for 51% of the time vs. Pumas UNAM that controlled the ball for 49% of the time.

Attitude and shots

Cruz Azul was more pushing with 36 dangerous attacks and 18 shots of which 8 were on target. This is one of the reasons why Cruz Azul won the match​.

Cruz Azul shot 18 times, 8 on target, 10 off target. On the opposite side, Pumas UNAM shot 14 times, 5 on target, 9 off target.

Cards

Cruz Azul received 3 yellow cards (P. Aguilar, I. Rivero and A. Romero). Regarding the opposition, Pumas UNAM received 2 yellow cards (A. Mozo and F. Alvarez).

Also, Pumas UNAM didn’t end the match with 11 players after A. L. Lillini (Pumas UNAM) was sent off after receiving a straight red card in the (72′).

Standings

After playing this contest, Cruz Azul will have 17 points to sit in the 5th place. Talking about the opposition, Pumas UNAM will stay with 11 points like Tijuana and Necaxa to remain in the 10th place.

Next matches

In the next match in the Liga MX, Cruz Azul will play away with América on the 1st of May with a 16-10 head to head record in favor of América (15 draws).

Pumas UNAM will host Pachuca on the 1st of May with a 12-10 head to head stats in favor of Pachuca (20 draws).

Cruz Azul – Formation

Cruz Azul started with a aggressive line-up (4-3-3).

The manager Juan Máximo Reynoso Guzmán decided to play with the following team: Jesús Corona (8.0), Rodrigo Huescas (6.2), Pablo Aguilar (7.1), Luis Abram (6.8), Adrián Aldrete (6.8), Carlos Rodriguez (7.6), Erik Lira (6.5), Rafael Baca (6.8), Luis Mendoza (6.8), Iván Morales (6.3) and José Rivero (8.0).

The home team had on the bench: Juan Escobar (7.6), Santiago Giménez (6.8), Uriel Antuna (7.0), C. Jiménez, R. Guerrero, Ángel Romero (6.8), Brayan Angulo, J. Haro and Sebastián Jurado.

Substitutions

Cruz Azul made 4 changes: I. Morales for S. Gimenez (46′), L. Mendoza for U. Antuna (46′), C. Rodriguez for A. Romero (67′) and R. Huescas for J. Escobar (67′).

Best player: Jesús Corona​

The most impressive player for Cruz Azul was the goalkeeper: Jesús Corona. His rating is 8.03. He performed 5 saves.

Pumas UNAM – Formation

Pumas UNAM started with a conservative line-up (4-4-2).

Andrés Luciano Lillini played with: Alfredo Talavera (7.7), Alan Mozo (6.7), Arturo Ortiz (6.7), Nicolás Freire (7.1), Jero Rodríguez (6.8), Diogo (7.3), Higor Meritão (6.3), Leonel López (6.9), Favio Álvarez (7.4), Rogério (6.8) and Juan Dinenno (6.4).

They had on the bench: Emanuel Montejano, Alek Álvarez, José Galindo, Washington Corozo, Efraín Velarde, Sebastian Saucedo (6.6), Omar Islas (6.4), Jesús Rivas, Julio González and S. Trigos.

Substitutions

Pumas UNAM made 2 changes: J. Dinenno for O. Islas (72′) and L. Lopez for S. Saucedo (83′).

Best player: Alfredo Talavera​

Following our analysis, the most impressive player for Pumas UNAM was the goalkeeper: Alfredo Talavera. His rating is 7.65. He performed 6 saves.

Results of the day

These are the results of the day in the Liga MX.​

• Atlético San Luis – Puebla – 2-1
• Toluca – Pachuca – 0-3
• Guadalajara – América – 0-0
• Cruz Azul – Pumas UNAM – 2-1