Jesus Gallardo played what might have been his best game in his young career as he scored twice to lead Pumas to a 3-0 victory in Tuxtla Gutierrez.,Chiapas against Jaguares. The win is a huge result and a big bounce back win for Pumas, who was coming from a terrible defeat to their rival America at home. The win also severely hurt Chiapas, who lost all points while their closest rivals in the fight to avoid relegation, Veracruz and Morelia, all gained. Chiapas is now one point away from Morelia and three points from bottom-placed Veracruz in the relegation table.
To the surprise of many, Pumas started as the better team. Pablo Barrera was dangerous all game but the Universitarios always failed in the final third, with Matias Britos failing to have his best game.
Chiapas had some control of the ball, but the game was a battle and there weren't any clear chances.
In the final minutes of the first half, and to the total surprise of everybody, Jesus Gallardo changed things with a great play. Gallardo got the ball outside the area and fired in a great long range shot to open the scoring.
Pumas then almost got a second when a Britos’ shot was clear off the line.
The second half had a good start for Chiapas, but then Gallardo started taking total control of the game. His great runs were a problem for Chiapas all day long, but Matias Britos kept having a terrible game. That was until he got a ball in the area and unleashed a close range shot that goalkeeper Moises Muñoz failed to clear for the 2-0.
Gallardo and Pumas kept controlling the game and in the final minutes, Gallardo got through the last line and scored the third to give Pumas the three points.
This win was key for Palencia and Pumas. While it's not a guarantee that it stops their bad momentum from the America game, they did get a victory in a place that had not only been tough for teams this season, but had been really tough to Pumas in their history. They will now face a tough game at home against Toluca but might have their best player, Nicolas Castillo, back from injury. Chiapas, on the other hand, looks to be in real trouble as they will now have to travel away to Monterrey to face Rayados with their relegation troubles back in full swing.