Tijuana beat Pumas UNAM 2:0 at Estadio Caliente in the sixth round of Liga MX Apertura on Friday night. The hosts took all three points to move up to third place in the table, while the visitors dropped to eleventh after six games. By then, the result was already decided before the second half was half over.
Early signs suggested a tight affair. A. Carrasquilla picked up a booking in the twelfth minute, and I. Tona followed suit twenty-one minutes later. And here's the thing — you watch the middle third of a match and remember the shape, not just the scoreboard. Tijuana were pressing higher, Pumas holding their line.
The game shifted at fifty-three minutes when G. Mora converted a penalty to put the hosts ahead. To be fair, Pumas had been disciplined enough to stay in the contest, but then P. Bennevendo saw red in the fifty-ninth. One moment changes everything on a pitch, and the red card pulled the rug out from under the visitors' structure.
Mora picked up two goals in the same game, adding a second penalty in the eighty-first minute. The substitution pattern followed — Tijuana brought on A. Medina and A. Carrasquilla at sixty-seven, then added A. Vega, Y. Padilla and F. Gonzalez at seventy-seven. Pumas responded with four changes at eighty-four, but the damage was done.
The statistics told the story of efficiency over volume. Tijuana registered 2.5 expected goals against 0.44 for Pumas, and converted both penalties while keeping three shots on target. Possession sat at 57 per cent for the hosts, who completed 485 passes to 341 for the visitors. Many shots with one goal means chances went begging, and that is exactly what happened here.
What the result means is clear enough when you look at the table. Tijuana sit third with 13 points from four wins, one draw and one defeat. Pumas are eleventh with 8 points from two wins, two draws and two losses. The gap between them is five points, and this match widened it.