América 3-3 Pumas – all to play for in the second leg | OneFootball

América and Pumas drew 3-3 in the first leg of the Clausura 2026 Quarterfinals.

This was América’s starting lineup: Rodolfo Cota, Sebastián Cáceres, Miguel Vázquez, Kevin Álvarez, Cristian Borja, Rodrigo Dourado, Erick Sánchez, Alexis Gutiérrez, Isaías Violante, Alejandro Zendejas, and Patricio Salas.

One of the big surprises at the start of the match was the team’s setup; looking at the lineup, it seemed like they were going back to a back four, but that wasn’t the case. Isaías Violante played as a right winger and Kevin Álvarez on the left, with Cáceres, Vázquez, and Borja as center backs.

5′ Pumas goal – Cáceres made a mistake while playing out from the back, and the opponent took advantage to make it 0-1. Juninho scored the opener for the visitors.

11′ AMÉRICA GOAL – Isaías Violante equalized after an assist from Patricio Salas.

22′ América close! – Alejandro Zendejas hit a shot off the post.

After Pumas scored, it looked like América might fall apart, but the exact opposite happened: they settled in well on the field, leveled the match, and controlled the rest of the first half with several chances on the opponent’s goal.

42′ Pumas goal – A shot from outside the box that didn’t have much on it, Rodolfo Cota spilled the rebound, and Antuna took advantage to make it 1-2.

43′ Substitution – On: Ramón Juárez – Off: Cristian Borja due to injury.

A very frustrating way to end the first half. América were superior to Pumas and created several scoring chances, but despite that they went into the break trailing because of two individual defensive errors.

53′ Pumas goal – Carrillo hit a shot from outside the box that left Cota rooted to the spot on a ball that seemed saveable.

60′ Substitutions – On: Raphael Veiga, Henry Martín, and Thiago Espinosa – Off: Alexis Gutiérrez, Patricio Salas, and Sebastián Cáceres.

And yet another injury added to América’s list; Sebastián Cáceres had to come off after taking a blow to the cheekbone. He joins Brian Rodríguez and Cristian Borja.

76′ Penalty for América! – Carrasquilla grabbed Rodrigo Dourado inside the box on a corner kick, and after a VAR review they decided to award the penalty.

77′ AMÉRICA GOAL – Henry Martín converted the penalty well and pulled the team closer.

77′ Substitutions – On: Vinícius Lima and Jonathan dos Santos – Off: Rodrigo Dourado and Erick Sánchez.

82′ Penalty for América! – A kick on Henry Martín inside the box was called as a penalty.

84′ AMÉRICA GOAL – Alejandro Zendejas converted the penalty and tied the match.

A match full of mistakes by both teams, but at the same time a playoff clash worthy of the occasion, with both clubs looking to take an advantage into the second leg.

André Jardine’s initial approach was very interesting, and it caught the opponent off guard. If not for individual errors, they should have taken the lead from the first half.

The second leg will be on Sunday, May 10 at 07:15 PM at Estadio Olímpico Universitario.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.