2020 Liga MX Clausura match recap: Puebla 2, Santos Laguna 2

Going into the 90th minute, it looked like Santos was going to walk out of Estadio Cuauhtémoc with three points. Just before the end of stoppage, it looked like Puebla would walk out with all three. In the end however, a 2-2 draw saw each team leave with a point and perhaps a sense of disappointment mixed in with some relief.

Santos started the match well, retaining possession for long stretches and menacing the Puebla end of the pitch. Puebla didn’t have much in the way of chances early but also didn’t give up any big chances early either. Santos looked to pressure the home side, making quick restarts and fighting to win back lost possession as quickly as possible. In the 11th Puebla had a decent chance off of a header in the box but goalkeeper Jonathan Orozco was able to swat it wide of the post. Orozco made another save a couple of minutes later after Gerardo Arteaga appeared to injure himself when turning awkwardly to defend. Arteaga would return after a brief spell on the sideline.

Puebla had a good chance in the 25th minute when Osvaldo Martínez hit a shot through traffic that just missed the post. A minute later, Orozco was called on again to make a huge stop on a shot. Play was rather quiet for most of the rest of the half and it looked like the teams were headed into the half with a scoreless draw until the 43rd when a short corner lead to Fernando Gorriarán floating a pass up into the box that Julio Furch got his head onto, knocking it past Nicolás Vikonis for his fifth goal in five games against Puebla.

After the half, Ulíses Rívas and Ángel Zaldívar clashed heads just outside of the Santos box. After a few minutes of stoppage, Osvaldo Martínez hit a free kick that looked to take a deflection on the way in and went past Orozco to tie the match at one each.

This seemed to light a fire under Santos, who had a couple of good chances in the minutes following the goal. In the 59th, Julio Furch had a header that just missed, and then in the 62nd Eryc “Culebra” Castillo hit a shot that just hooked wide of the far post. Santos also utilized their high press, chasing Puebla when they had the ball. This would pay dividends in the 72nd minute when Santos forced a turnover and drove into the box. Carlos Orrantía hit a centering pass that Alan Acosta knocked into his own net for an own goal.

Santos almost had a third in the 74th when Diego Valdés hit a shot that Vikonis made a fantastic save on. In the 86th Puebla almost pulled one back when Cristian “Polaco” Menéndez was able to win a ball and spring Christian Tabó in past the line. Santos was able to get numbers back and defend and Tabó hit a ball back to Martínez, but his shot went well over the bar.

As the clock stuck 90, the referee awarded six minutes of stoppage and things got weird. Santos looked to have a break when Vikonis came up on a free kick for an extra attacker. The ball was grabbed by Orozco and played down field to Diego Valdés, who got the ball and raced toward the open net. After only a couple of steps, he had the ball taken off of his feet and immediately Puebla broke back down field. Tabó hit a centering pass that bounced off of Polaco and into the net to draw the game level.

If that wasn’t enough, Puebla came back down the field and Tabó was taken down in the box. Osvaldo Martínez stepped up to take the kick, but his attempt went well into the stands and Osvaldito was left pointing to a large piece of turf that had moved during his attempt as the referee blew the final whistle.

Puebla will head to Pachuca to face Tuzos on Saturday while Santos will return home to host Monterrey on Tuesday in Copa MX play and Tigres next Sunday in Liga MX play.

Puebla: Nicolás Vikonis; Salvador Reyes, Jesús Zavala, Maximiliano Perg, Alan Acosta; Alejandro Chumacero (Cristian Menéndez, 46’), Javier Salas, Osvaldo Martínez; Christian Tabó, Ángel Zaldívar (Pablo González, 65’), Omar Fernández

Santos Laguna: Jonathan Orozco; Josecarlos Van Rankin, Hugo Rodríguez, Matheus Dória, Gerardo Arteaga; Brian Lozano, Fernando Gorriarán, Ulíses Rívas, Eryc Castillo (Emilio Orrantía, 73’); Julio Furch (Octavio Rivero, 76‘), Eduardo Aguirre (Diego Valdés, 53’)

Scoring: Puebla - Osvaldo Martínez (50‘), Cristian Menéndez, (90+3’); Santos Laguna - Julio Furch (43’), Alan Acosta (72’ - autogol)

Disciplinary: Puebla - Salvador Reyes (Yellow - 26’); Santos Laguna - Hugo Rodríguez (Yellow - 19’), Darwin Quintana (Red - 44’)