Pumas added another great result to their run in the Clausura 2026 by defeating Necaxa in an away match that ended with a 1-0 score. Pumas was the better team thru the 90 minutes but a lot of problems in the final third made it so the match could have ended with a tie before a late goal gave them the key three points. Pumas now climbs temporarily to third place in Liga MX but they will have a tough match next week when they face off against their rivals and current Liga MX leaders, Cruz Azul. Necaxa will have to travel
and face off against Puebla.
The 1st half started with Pumas coming out once again their same starting 11 from past matches. A left footed shot from Pedro Vite would be easily saved by Necaxa’s goalkeeper, Ezequiel Unsain. A shot from outside the area from Vite was deflected into the path of Nathan, who from close range got off a right footed shot that was blocked by Unsain in what was more a bad miss than a great save from the goalkeeper. Defender Alexis Peña looked to have hurt himself and had to leave the match. Emilio Lara was subbed in his place. Franco Rossano got the ball in the area and got off a left footed shot that was saved by Pumas’ goalkeeper, Keylor Navas. A shot in the area from Juninho was blocked into the path of Robert Morales, whose right footed shot was brilliantly saved by Unsain. A cross into the area would find Nathan who would send his volley well wide in another bad miss. A shot from outside the area from Rodrigo Lopez would go just wide. A great cross from Adalberto Carrasquilla would find a wide open Juninho but his header went well wide in another terrible miss. A right footed shot from outside the area from Loreno Faravelli went well wide. It was the last chance of the match as the score ended 0-0 although Pumas deserved to have gone to the break with the lead.
The 2nd half started with neither team making a change at halftime break. Off a corner kick, a wide open Tomas Bodaloni looked to have headed the ball from close range and past Navas, who cleared after it went off past the line. The Necaxa players asked for the goal but the referee ruled that he had handled the ball and waved off the goal. From outside the area, Jordan Carrillo got off a great right footed shot that forced a wonderful save from Unsain. Necaxa subbed out Javier Ruiz for Ricardo Monreal. A great combination play ended with Carrillo’s getting off shot that was deflected and then cleared. A cross into the area was headed by Badaloni but Navas would make a good save on it. Pumas subbed out Juninho for Uriel Antuna. A great chance was wasted when a wide open Angulo and Carrillo both crashed into each other and the ball went wide. Pumas subbed out Jordan Carrillo for Guillermo Martinez. Off a free kick, a great cross from Carrasquilla would find Guillermo Martinez, who headed the ball past Unsain to score and give Pumas the deserved 1-0 lead. Pumas subbed out Alan Medina and Robert Morales for Pablo Bennevendo and Cesar Garza. Necaxa subbed out Kevin Gutierrez and Franco Rossano for Israel Tello and Bryan Casas. From outside the area, Vite got off a great left footed shot that was saved by Unsain but the ref failed to give up a corner kick. A cross into the area was headed wide by Agustin Oliveros. It was the last chance and Pumas held on to get a very important victory.
Pumas got another important result after defeating Necaxa by a 1-0 score. Pumas was the better team from the start but wasted key chances and it looked like the match was going to end with a scoreless tie before the key headed goal from Martinez. After losing their undefeated record on Tuesday, Pumas got back on track with the win but they will have two extremely tough match against their city rivals. Pumas will face off next week against Cruz Azul and then face their biggest regular season match when they face off against Club America. They have the benefit of hosting both matches and that America seems to be struggling but they will be a tough matchup especially after losing their toughest matchup so far in the season against Toluca, even when they gave a good performance. On the other hand Necaxa keeps struggling under new coach Martin Varini but they will have a chance to bounce back when they visit Puebla in a week.
