Cruz Azul rescues itself against Pumas and climbs the table

The classic between Cruz Azul and Pumas for Matchday 11 of the Clausura 2023 tournament had a very well-defined scenario since the beginning of the week: two teams mired in the shadows fighting one-on-one to open a door that would give them a bit of clarity and thus climbing to the first 10 places in the general table.

And the one that best understood the game was the cement team, because although they had to pay a 45-minute penance without a single direct shot at their opponents’ goal due to the lack of skill of their forwards, in the second half they converted and managed get a 1-0 victory thanks to a very technical collective play that ended with a left-footed volley from Alonso Escoboza.

The left midfielder’s goal fell at minute 84, when it seemed that the Clásico Capitalino would not go beyond a gray 0-0 tie that, until then, clearly defined the shortcomings and limitations that both teams have had throughout the tournament, where they have played with more impetus than precision.

The bad moment of both clubs was reflected in a weak entry into the Azteca stadium, which in the first 10 minutes of the game looked half-empty. In the end, the total turnout was 23,499 fans, which still remains the third worst turnout for Cruz Azul playing at home in the Clausura 2023 (despite being a game considered a Classic and played on Saturday night).

In this context of little credibility before their respective fans, both clubs from the capital went out looking for a victory that would propel them beyond positions 11 and 12 in the table, where they were before Matchday 11. The first to insist was Pumas, with more possession during the first half and constantly looking for the dribbles of Eduardo Salvio and Diogo De Oliveira to deepen.

This is how the first 45 minutes went, with Pumas having more possession but without real danger arrivals for either of the two goalkeepers. The tie meant a darker future for Cruz Azul than for the university students, since it would drop them to 14th place in the table.

Faced with such a scenario, those led by Ricardo “Tuca” Ferretti completely changed the chip in the second half and reinvented themselves towards the offense, beginning with the entry of two nominal forward centers, Michael Estrada and Gonzalo Carneiro, who began to validate the centers Uriel Antuna and Ignacio Rivero.

Antuna himself had already had a couple of interesting chances between the 65th and 75th minute, thanks to leaked passes from his teammate on the Mexican team, Carlos Rodríguez, as well as Erik Lira. However, bad luck and out-of-tune aim seemed to be against the La Máquina players, who for that part of the game were much more intense than the university students in their search for goals.

But after so much knocking on the door, Cruz Azul got his reward. A play between Antuna and Rivero down the right wing, in which the latter ended up sending a well-resolved cross with Escoboza’s volley, caused the Azteca stadium to jump with emotion. Ricardo “Tuca” Ferretti’s strategy worked and the team climbed to eighth place in the table momentarily, until the rest of the games of matchday 11 are defined.

For its part, Pumas fell to 14th place and increased its number of defeats to six of 11 games played, which puts coach Rafael Puente Del Río, once again, on a tightrope before the demands of fans who ask for a better performance of your team.

Cruz Azul could take this result as a boost to continue climbing the table, since on matchday 12 they will also play at home when they receive Atlético de San Luis (March 18), while Pumas will receive one of the candidates for the title , Pachuca, in Ciudad Universitaria (March 19).