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Pumas will try to strike twice as they return to Guadalajara and face Chivas, two weeks after beating them for the first time since 1982 in Guadalajara.
Pumas will need to bounce back after a disastrous elimination to León in the Copa MX, where they were totally outplayed and failed to go through even with a bit of help from the officials. Chivas, on the other hand, will need to bounce back after a rollercoaster Clásico Nacional against Club América, in which they took the lead before conceding an equilizer and having goalkeeper Raul Gudiño stop a penalty kick in the final minute.
For the first time in 36 years, Pumas will play Chivas in Guadalajara with the opportunity to continue a winning streak. The Universitarios will try to shut down doubters, given their win two weeks ago came in Copa MX and not in Liga MX like in 82.
That said, Pumas will still need to improve from two disappointing performances since that game. They first got a tie against Puebla at home after wasting a 2-0 lead. They then were eliminated in Leon. Not only did they loet a 1-0 lead, but the game only got to penalties (after it ended tied 1-1) because of a terrible refereeing job that took away three goals from Leon (one of them a clear mistake in the final minute). After Pumas was outplayed and favored, they went and failed badly in the penalty kicks to go out of the Copa MX tournament. A win will help rally Pumas back on track, but a loss will be a severe hit to a Pumas team that seems to stop getting results as their level of play decreases.
While Chivas went out in Copa MX to Pumas, most of the attention was placed on their Sunday game against America. The Clásico Nacional is the biggest match in Liga MX and it rose to it’s fame. Chivas took the lead in the second half with a goal by Alan Pulido, but weren’t able to hold on and Andres Ibarguen tied the game. Then what looked to be a disappointing game seemed to turn into a tragedy when a penalty kick was given to América in the last minute of the game. Goalkeeper Raul Gudiño, who made the foul, went from villain to hero when he stopped the penalty from Mateus Uribe. Chivas fans rejoiced and the game finished with Chivas fans the more euphoric when they were the saddest minutes before.
Chivas will definitely be the more inspired team because of the results of the game and will be tough hurdle for Pumas. Pumas might try for history to repeat itself but the lack of cohesion the team has shown under coach David Patiño might make a draw away to Chivas seem like a victory.
Date: Saturday, October 6
Time: 7:00pm Pacific, 9:00pm Central, 10:00pm Eastern
Venue: Estadio Akron, Zapopan, Jalisco
TV: Univision(US-Spanish), TDN (Mexico), UnivisionTDN (Mexico)
Streaming: fuboTV (Free trial + monthly subscription), Univision NOW