America, Pumas Share Points in the Clásico Capitalino

America and Pumas met in another installment of the Clasico Capitalino, this time at el Estadio Azteca. The storyline leading up to this game was courtesy of Miguel Herrera and his complaints regarding his injured players and players being lent out to the Mexico National Team. However, Herrera made it work with the injuries on hand and even without star goalie, Memo Ochoa. Pumas on their end were also without their star goalie, Alfredo Talavera, who was on called up for international duty.

The game nonetheless delivered excitement to fans, many considering this one of the most entertaining games played so far in the Guard1anes tournament. There was a healthy back and forth between both teams, with America eventually controlling approximately 60% of ball possession by the end of the game. Initially however, it was Pumas that struck first. Juan Pablo Vigon was able to get a shot off within the box at the 28^th minute of play to make it 1-0 in favor of the felinos. It was somewhat short-lived though, as 10 minutes later in the 39^th minute of play, America’s Nico Benedetti would get off a similar shot also within the box to tie things up neatly at 1-1.

More goals would come in the second half as well. It was Pumas again that would score first, this time courtesy of Juan Iturbe in the 55^th minute. A great individual play by Pumas’ Alejandro Mayorga lead to a tailored lob that Iturbe was able to convert into a potent header for the 2-1 score. America didn’t respond with a goal as quickly this time around, but they did put their rival defense to work. Eventually their dominance would pay off. In the 81^st minute of play, the VAR was brought into the spotlight as an alleged handball was being called for penalty. Off an America free-kick, Andres Iniestra’s hand would make contact with the ball inside the area. At first the referee did not blow the whistle and let the play continue, but once the play ended, he went to the VAR to confirm what he had seen. The video review made the infraction clear, and a penalty in favor of America was called. Federico Viñas was the player in charge of taking the shot and his effort was met with success as he scored what would eventually be the final goal of the game and which gave America the 2-2 tie.

This result will keep America and Pumas in 3^rd and 4^th place in the stands, respectively, with America ending the week with 25 points and Pumas trailing by just one point for a total of 24 points. With the tournament in the final stretch now, with just 4 jornadas left to be played, both teams are still serious contenders for the championship in this torneo.