2020 Liga MX Clausura match recap: Santos Laguna 1, UNAM Pumas 1

A tie that felt like a loss for Santos Laguna, as they drew UNAM Pumas 1-1 at TSM Corona. There were a lot of positives however for Los Guerreros, who remain unbeaten at home and gave up less than two goals for the first time this season. Santos made two changes to the starting eleven, opting to start Hugo Rodríguez over Félix Torres and forward Eduardo “Lalo” Aguirre over central midfielder in Diego Valdés.

Neither team threatened much at first, and it wasn’t until the eighth minute that Santos had a good chance at goal. Eryc “La Culebra” drove deep down the right side of the pitch and hit a cut-back pass to Fernando Gorriarán, who trailed the play. He hit a pass over towards Eduardo “Lalo” Aguirre, however the pass was scuffed a bit and Lalo wasn’t able to get to it. A minute later, “Gorri” had a shot on goal from outside of the box however it went well wide of Alfredo Saldívar’s net.

Santos seemed to settle in first, while Pumas started showing visible signs of frustration early with players barking at the referee for every perceived slight. They were eventually able to settle in, creating a very good chance in the 34th minute but while the ball went off of a Carlos González header, he was played in an offside position and the goal was annulled.

The second half started out much like the first had ended, with Santos being largely in control. In the 49th, Lalo Aguirre looked to have a good run in on goal but his header went wide. In the 55th, Brian Lozano drove into the box and was chopped down, and Oscar Mejia didn’t hesitate to award the penalty. Julio Furch stepped up and converted for his first goal of the season to give Santos the lead.

Pumas however would come down immediately and draw a foul just outside of the box. The free kick went straight to goalkeeper Jonathan Orozco, who held onto it before being knocked down, drawing the ire of the Santos players. Pumas played very conservatively after conceding the goal, perhaps hoping for a set piece goal. They would get just that when in the 70th minute Johan Vásquez would head in a corner kick to draw the sides level.

In the 82nd minute Brian Lozano was tripped up in the box. Subsequent replays showed that there was some contact but nothing was whistled and the referee did not go to VAR for a review. Santos harassed Pumas, pressing for a game winning goal but ultimately had to settle for the draw.

Santos will head to Puebla to face La Franja on Friday while Pumas will return to CU to host Atlético San Luis on Sunday.

Santos Laguna: Jonathan Orozco; Josecarlos Van Rankin, Hugo Rodríguez, Matheus Dória, Gerardo Arteaga; Brian Lozano, Fernando Gorriarán, Ulíses Rívas, Eryc Castillo (Alan Cervantes, 84’); Julio Furch (Octavio Rivero, 74’), Eduardo Aguirre (Diego Valdés, 77’)

UNAM Pumas: Alfredo Saldívar; Alan Mozo, Johan Vazquez, Luis Quintana, Alejandro Mayorga; Andrés Iniestra; Sebastián Saucedo (Ignacio Malcorra, 72’), Juan Pablo Vigon (Marco García, 60’), Favio Alvarez (Juan Dinenno, 66’); Pablo Barrera, Carlos González (Ignacio Malcorra, 72’)

Scoring: Santos Laguna - Julio Furch (57’ - penalty); UNAM Pumas - Johan Vásquez (69’)

Disciplinary: Santos Laguna - Ulíses Rívas (Yellow - 34’), Gerardo Arteaga (Yellow - 78’), Brian Lozano (Yellow - 87’); UNAM Pumas - Favio Alvarez (Yellow - 42’)