The UNAM Pumas managed to qualify for their fifth final of the Concacaf club tournament after beating Cruz Azul 2-1 on the global scoreboard. The Azteca Stadium, which hosted the return, did not have the goal scream, but it witnessed an exciting match, in which the university students suffered the expulsion of Arturo Ortiz in the 63rd minute, in addition to the fact that the VAR took away a penalty, but not the ticket to the championship match.
The feelings of the fans began with a rise and fall from the 4th minute, when the Argentine striker Juan Dinenno took a long-distance shot that passed close to the goal of Sebastian Jurado, but only at 10′, La Máquina responded with a headpiece by Adrián Aldrete.
The first clear action came to 16′, after a leaked pass by Uriel Antuna left Ignacio Rivero in front of Alfredo Talavera, but the Uruguayan overcrossed his shot and left the side of the university arc.
The felines were not far behind and at 19 ′, Juan Dinenno took advantage of the speed of Diogo de Oliveira to put a deep pass, the same as the Brazilian arrived and took a crossover shot that Sebastián Jurado saved with a spectacular flight.
Pumas missed a pass after a corner kick in his favor, which Cruz Azul took advantage of to start a counterattack with the speed of Uriel Antuna who, before the mark of Alan Mozo, waited for the arrival of Iván Morales, but being in front of Alfredo Talavera flew his shot at 20 '.
The visiting team closed the first half with the clearest goals, even at 33′ they canceled a score to Leonel López for offside and at 37′, Arturo Ortiz missed a header shot already without a mark and in front of the cement goal.
Pumas opened the second half with a counterattack at 47′ that ended with a shot by Juan Dinenno that passed the goal of Sebastián Jurado, who followed the ball with a look of anguish before the closeness.
Juan Reynoso moved his pieces and at 59′ he sent Santiago Giménez and Christian Tabó to the court, who entered by Rafael Baca and Iván Morales.
The changes paid off just four minutes later, when Santiago Giménez won his back against the defenders of Pumas and was profiled only against Alfredo Talavera, but just before entering the rival area, Arturo Ortiz knocked him down, so 'Palermo' was expelled at 63′.
The VAR appeared at 75′ to cancel an alleged penalty after a sweep by Adrián Aldrete over Diogo de Oliveira, but the whistling Mario Escobar, after reviewing the action, canceled the action.
After the expulsion of Arturo Ortiz and with little time left on the clock, Pumas took a defensive stance, while Cruz Azul turned to attack. However, La Máquina lacked the imagination to open up the university students, who left the Azteca Stadium with the ticket to the final of the Concacaf Champions League.
Now, the college squad will have to wait on April 14 to meet their MLS rival, between Seattle Sounders and New York City. The final will be played back and forth, first on Tuesday, April 26, in Mexican territory, and then on May 5, in the US. The winner will go to the next Club World Cup with the venue yet to be defined.
It should be recalled that the last time Pumas reached a final was in the 2005 edition of the Concachampios against Costa Rica's Saprissa, where it fell by an overall score of 3 to 2.