Pumas and Monterrey Split Points in Ciudad Universitaria

Pumas UNAM hosted Monterrey in an entertaining 1-1 draw where both teams tried to find the victory until the last minute.

Pumas’ Alfredo Talavera had an outstanding performance, making four save to deny Monterrey’s efforts to score a winning goal. For Monterrey, El Toro Janssen was essential for Monterrey’s dominance in the second half.

In the first half, both teams were level until Juan Dinenno’s goal from the penalty spot opened up the goal tally. His goal tally rose to five goals to become the tournament’s top goalscorer. This night featured the best game by Pumas under Andres Lillini. The team had a confident idea and were comfortable on the ball by constantly creating goal chances.

Vincent Janssen came in on the 47th minute and was fundamental and made a quick impact on Monterrey’s game. It wasn’t until Nicolas Sanchez equalized the scoreboard for the away side via a penalty kick. With Janssen’s presence in the field, notably, Monterrey became the better team looking for a victory. Monterrey now has registered one win in their last 14 games, an embarrassing streak Antonio Mohamed has yet to fix.

More from Viva Liga MX

• Guillermo Ochoa is out 4-6 weeks
• The Clásico Regiomontano is Heating Up
• Pumas: In Search of Regaining a Top Spot
• Why the United States Is Set to Overtake Mexico on the World Stage
• Erick Gutierrez is out once again

Both teams had chances in the dying minutes of the game to put their teams ahead, Janssen had a one-on-one opportunity against Talavera, but his shot went right outside the goal. Juan Dinenno could have had his sixth goal in the last chance of the game, but nearly missed the ball to tap it to the back of the net after a well-executed corner kick.

Both teams have a couple of exciting games ahead of them. Pumas’ next three games see them go on the road twice facing newly Liga MX team Mazatlan and Tigres, and they return to the Olimpico Universitario against Xolos de Tijuana. Monterrey hosts Necaxa, then goes on the road to face América and then returns to the BBVA Stadium to face Juárez.

After four match days, Pumas (2-2-0) now sits second of the general standings accumulating eight points and are still undefeated. Monterrey (1-2-1) rose to the eighth position accumulating five points.

Both teams gave it their best shots to end the game with a win, and both keepers were stellar in denying those said opportunities. The season is long, but this tournament has proven to be very entertaining.