Pumas crush Queretaro to finally get their second victory of the season

Pumas were finally able to get a second win in the Apertura 2022 after crushing last placed Queretaro by a 4-1 score. Pumas were the better team throughout the match but were headed towards another disappointing result after only obtaining a 1-1 tie at the half. Pumas will now have a tough visit to Toluca while Queretaro return home to face a tough Santos Laguna.

The 1st half started with news that Pumas were starting Gustavo del Prete for Juan Ignacio Dinenno. Del Prete had a chance early on, but his shot was blocked by Queretaro’s goalkeeper, Washington Aguerre. A cross into the area found Angel Sepulveda, who got off a wide open header that forced Pumas’ goalkeeper Julio Gonzalez to make a great save. Because of an injury, Higor Meritao had to be subbed out 14 minutes in and Jose Caicedo took his place. A cross into the area was headed by Del Prete but Queretaro’s defender, Kevin Balanta whiffed on the clearance and the ball almost got into the path of Diogo de Olivera, but Aguerre was able to clear. Pumas had another chance after a mistake allowed Diogo to get the ball in the area, but he made a bad pass and Queretaro were able to clear the ball before Dani Alves got a close range opportunity. Then, Eduardo Salvio fired off a shot from outside the area and the ball went past Aguerre for a goal, giving Pumas the 1-0 lead. Queretaro subbed out Ariel Nahuelpan for Jose Angulo. Pumas looked in control of the match but weren’t creating much danger with all their possession. After a bad mistake, Queretaro got a counter attack and a great cross was headed by Angel Sepulveda past Gonzalez for the 1-1. Pumas had controlled the match to that point, but not scoring made that one mistake costly. The halftime whistle blew and Pumas’ good start had once again wilted away.

The 2nd half began with Queretaro subbing out Clifford Aboagye for Rodrigo Lopez. After a couple of early even minutes, Pumas decided to change and subbed out Gustavo Del Prete for Juan Ignacio Dinenno. After a good pass from Salvio, Juan Ignacio Dinenno got the ball in the area and got a shot past Aguerre, but it was ruled to be offside. Replays showed it was a bad call, however, and after going to VAR, it was correctly given as the 2-1. A cross into the area almost turned into a goal after Gonzalez and Arturo Ortiz had trouble clearing the ball. Then, after great play by Dani Alves getting past a defender, he got a good cross in that Juan Ignacio Dinenno was able to head past Aguerre for the 3-1. Dinenno would get the ball in the area and get off a shot that Aguerre saved. Queretaro subbed out Omar Mendoza, Kevin Escamilla and Angel Sepulveda for Raul Torres, Mario Osuna and Juan Romagnoli. Gallos had a chance when Sequeira got the ball alone in the area, but his shot went well wide. After a bad elbow thrown by Osuna to Dani Alves, the Brazilian had a bad cut in his mouth. Pumas subbed out Cesar Huerta and Eduardo Salvio for Jorge Ruvalcaba and Leonel Lopez. A great chance for Pumas was wasted when a Queretaro defender deflected the ball off Dinenno’s feet. Off a corner kick, Diogo would rise and get off a header that would go just wide. Afterwards, a great play by Jorge Ruvalcaba took place, when he made a great run past his defender and got off a powerful shot from close range past Aguerre to give Pumas the commanding 4-1 lead. The match ended and Pumas finally got their second win of the season (the first since the signing of Dani Alves).

Pumas were finally able to turn things around and bounced back from a late goal in the 1st half to score three times and grab their 2nd win of the season. Pumas had some good performances from players like Salvio and Dani Alves, as well as great substitutions like Ruvalcaba and Caicedo, who came in for an injured Meritao, meaning he’ll probably keep playing in his spot. Still, Pumas defeated a Queretaro who sits at the bottom of the table and need to keep improving because they will have a tough test next as they travel to face Toluca. Queretaro will return home after another dreadful performance and will have a tough match at home as they face a Santos team that has shown to be one of the best teams in the league.