Pumas defeated San Diego FC by a 1-0 score that was not enough to overcome the 4-1 loss in the first leg and Pumas was eliminated from the CONCACAF Champions Cup. Pumas went on the offense from the start but were caught a couple of times on counter attacks and were not able to create much chances and the aggregate loss was deserved. Pumas will now have to concentrate on Liga MX, where they will return to action on Friday against Puebla while San Diego FC will face off in the next knockout series against current Liga MX champions, Toluca.
The 1st half started with Pumas coming out without the injured Cesar Garza although injured Adalberto Carrasquilla had improved enough to be on the bench. A cross into the area was lowered by Juninho but his half bicycle kick volley would go wide. A left footed shot from outside the area by Ruben Duarte would go wide. A great opportunity was wasted when Robert Morales decided to cross instead of shoot and send it well wide. A ball would fall to Uriel Antuna in the area but his right footed shot was saved by San Diego FC’s goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega. San Diego FC would respond when a longball reached Amahl Pellegrino, whose right footed shot would go past Pumas’ goalkeeper, Keylor Navas but hit the post. From way outside the area, Pedro Vite got off a left footed shot that went wide. On a almost 1 vs 1, Juninho was able to outrun his defender but his left footed shot was well saved by Sisniega. From outside the area, Jordan Carrillo got off a right footed shot that went wide. Off a counter, Anders Dreyer would get the time and space to get off a shot that was easily saved by Navas. After a terrible mistake from Jesus Rivas, the ball would be won by Pellegrino, who again got off a shot past Navas but it hit the post. Off a counter, a cross into the area found a wide open Carrillo but his right footed shot went wide in a bad miss. A shot from outside the area by Juninho almost got deflected into the net. The halftime whistle blew and the score remained scoreless, spelling trouble for Pumas.
The 2nd half started with neither team making a change during the break. Off a free kick, Pedro Vite got off a cross that turned into a shot that would go past the defense and bounced in front of Sisniega and then past him to go into the net and give Pumas the 1-0 lead. A pass into the area found Morales but his right footed shot was saved by Sisniega as Pumas was coming in strong at the start of the half. From outside the area Marcus Ingvartsen would get off a left footed shot that Navas made a great save on. Pumas subbed out Uriel Antuna for Adalberto Carrasquilla. A cross into the area fell to Alvaro Angulo, whose left footed shot was fabulously saved by Sisniega. San Diego FC subbed out Pedro Soma and Marcus Ingvartsen for David Vazquez and Alex Mighten. Pumas subbed out Jesus Rivas and Alan Medina for Rodrigo Lopez and Guillermo Martinez. Pumas kept trying but the substitutions hadn’t paid off and they started to lose composure. San Diego FC subbed out Amahl Pellegrino and Anibal Godoy for Kieran Sargeant and Onni Valakari. Off a free kick, a cross into the area was headed wide by Juninho. A cross into the area was headed from close range by Martinez but his header would hit the post. Another cross into the area was headed wide by Martinez. San Diego FC subbed out Luca Bombino for Ian Pelcher. Off a run into the area, Juninho got off a right footed shot but Sisniega made a good save. Another cross into the area was headed by Martinez but right at Sisniega. Pumas wasted a great chance when Carrasquilla won a ball but when he passed it to Juninho, the attacker incredibly pass the ball back instead of getting off a shot and Pumas ended up losing the ball. From just outside the area, Carrasquilla got off a shot that was saved by Sisniega. After Pumas lost the ball, Dreyer got on a 1 vs 1 but when he got past Keylor, the ball would go long and Navas was able to rescue the ball from his feet. After making a foul and getting another Yellow Card, Ruben Daurte got red carded. Pumas tried but where never able to get that other goal and the win wasn’t enough, giving San Diego FC the ticket to the next round and giving Pumas another embarrassment in CONCACAF.
Pumas added another chapter to their recent disastrous CONCACAF performances. While this is nowhere close to the fact that Pumas ended Liga MX’s streak of CONCACAF title wins by losing their final against Seattle in 2022, it’s as bad a result as any as they go out in the first round against an MLS side that was making their international debut a year after being founded. Pumas’ terrible result in the first leg was too big a hurdle to overcome as they went out even after their win in the return leg. Coach Efrain Juarez will face a lot of questions and a lot of pressure from fans after another disappointment during his tenure. While Juarez came into the job with high expectations after winning two titles in a short spell in Colombia as head coach of Atletico Nacional, he has yet to achieve anything in Pumas and this will add another mark especially if they are the only Liga MX team to go out in this round, something that is looking like it will be the result. Pumas will now have to concentrate on the league where they are undefeated but have given a lot of mediocre performances. San Diego FC meanwhile gets a huge boost but they will have a tougher test in the next round when they face Liga MX current back to back champions, Toluca.