Tijuana dispatch Pumas to return to winning ways

Tijuana defeated a very lackluster Pumas by a 2-0 score to return to the victory path. Xolos bounced back from the tough loss away to Chivas on Saturday to get another victory and continue their great record at home. Pumas’ terrible level continued as they had their second loss of the season and third straight match without a win, all of them after their disastrous Leagues Cup campaign. The match also had the strange circumstance that the United States audience failed to see much of the first half as TUDN USA didn’t broadcast it because of the delay of the previous Atlante vs Leon game.

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The 1st half started even though for fans in the United States, it meant nothing as TUDN USA wasn’t showing the match. A shot was blocked and fell to Victor Arteaga, whose shot from outside the area was saved by Tijuana’s goalkeeper, Jose Rodriguez. Adonis Preciado would make a great play in the area by getting past a defender and getting off a right footed shot that went just wide. A cross into the area was deflected into the path of Ivan Tona, whose right footed shot went wide. A cross into the area went past Pumas’ defense and reached Francisco Gonzalez, whose left footed shot was blocked by Xolos’ defense. A right footed shot from Tona from outside the area went just wide. From outside the area, a left footed shot from outside the area from Arteaga forced another save from Rodriguez. Off a corner kick, the cross into the area was headed wide by Nathan. The halftime whistle blew and although Tijuana had a number of opportunities, the match remained scoreless.

The 2nd half started with neither team making a substitution. Off a corner kick, Ruben Duarte clearly pulled Mourad El Ghezouani and the referee gave a Penalty Kick to Tijuana. Gilberto Mora stepped up to take the PK and he got off a right footed shot past Pumas’ goalkeeper, Keylor Navas, to score and gives Xolos the 1-0 lead. In the middle of the field, Pablo Bennevendo made an incredible harsh foul on El Ghezouani and although the referee missed it, he would get a red card leaving Pumas with 10 players. It was a terrible play as Bennevendo looked to have killed his team’s chances. Yael Padilla got the ball in the area but his left footed shot went wide. Pumas subbed out Adalberto Carrasquilla and Alan Medina for Pedro Vite and Juninho. A cross into the area would be volleyed by Mora but deflected clear by Duarte. A left footed shot from way outside the area from Luciano Herrera would be brilliantly saved by Rodriguez. Tijuana subbed out Alan Vega, Yael Padilla and Francisco Gonzalez for Unai Bilbao, Angel Zapata and Ramiro Arciga. After getting into the area, El Ghezouani looked to be dropped and although the referee originally gave him a Yellow card for faking it, he would be called to VAR and the call reversed as another PK was given to Tijuana. Gilberto Mora stepped up to take the PK and once again he placed his right footed shot past Navas to score and increased the lead to 2-0. Xolos subbed out Adonis Preciado for Pablo Ortiz. Pumas subbed out Uriel Antuna and Victor Arteaga for Cristian Calderon and Israel Luna. Tijuana subbed out Mourad El Ghezouani for Diego Abreu. Abreu got the ball in the area but his left footed shot went just wide. A cross into the area was headed by Mora from close range by right to Navas.

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Xolos temporarily climbed to second place in Liga MX by defeating a very poor Pumas on Friday night. Xolos was the better team and deserved the victory against a Pumas side that always struggles in Tijuana and did so again. Coach Esteban Solari had his first crisis at the helm of Pumas with three very poor matches as Pumas had been disastrous since their awful Leagues Cup campaign in which Pumas not only got a point out of nine but lost two key players because of injuries (Sebastian Cordova, Alvaro Angulo). Tijuana continued their great start to the Apertura 2026 where they have four victories at home. A week after suffering their first setback against Chivas, they were able to get a good and deserved victory. Xolos will have a very tough match as they travel to Mexico City to face off against first placed Club America while Pumas will host Leon but will have to await for Leon’s result in the Leagues cup to see if the match will be played on Sunday or postponed.