Tuzos dig their way out of trouble, earn draw at Puebla

Pachuca overcame a sloppy pitch and spectacular goalkeeping by Antony Silva to salvage a 2-2 draw at Estadio Cuauhtémoc, extending Puebla’s winless streak to 11.

The hard-luck Camoteros had forged a 2-0 lead thanks to a first-half golazo by Jordi Cortizo and an early second-half goal from Martín Barragán, but the visitors simply would not be denied.

Silva underwent a game-long bombardment from the Tuzos, parrying and punching shots away from his net for the first 78 minutes. Then a slick wall pass by sub “Chofis” López released Nico Ibáñez into the box and the Pachuca sniper made no mistake, slotting past Silva at the near post.

Ibáñez got the equalizer just as the clock struck 90, heading home off a corner kick, his low banger sneaking between Silva’s legs as the goalie moved right to left. The Tuzos’ goleador now has 7 goals, one behind América’s Henry Martín in the race for the Liga MX Golden Boot.

Tigres declare intentions

Up in Nuevo León, Tigres bounced back from Saturday’s 2-1 loss at Liga MX table-toppers América, leap-frogging their victims – Toluca – in the process. Miguel Herrera’s men defeated the visiting Diablos Rojos 3-1.

Sebastián Córdova opened the scoring in minute 41, André-Pierre Gignac extended Tigres’ lead just past the hour mark. Jean Meneses answered for Toluca in minute 67, but Florian Thauvin announced his return to fitness by knocking him the clincher in minute 80. Thauvin also assisted on Gignac’s goal in his first appearance since his late-July injury.

The result moved Tigres to fifth in the Liga MX table with 25 points – 1 behind fourth-place Pachuca– while Toluca tumbled one spot to sixth (22 points).

Elsewhere in Liga MX

The king is dead, long live the king! Two-time defending Liga MX champs Atlas fell into 17th place with a 1-0 loss to Mazatlán FC who climbed into 10th with the victory.

Nico Benedetti picked Emanuel Aguilera’s pocket in midfield and broke in alone on Camilo Vargas, beating the Atlas goalie with a lovely chip. The Zorros are now 2-4-8. Those eight losses match the total losses Atlas suffered in the last two seasons combined.

In Mexico City, Dani Alves finally learned what a victory in Liga MX feels like as the Pumas routed last-place Querétaro 4-1 to keep their playoff hopes alive. Since joining the Pumas, the legendary Brazilian and his new team had gone 0-4-4 until Wednesday’s victory at home

The win lifted UNAM from 17th to 15th, just 2 points out of a wildcard spot. The Gallos Blancos are buried deeper in the Liga MX cellar with a 1-5-8 record.

In Tijuana, the Chivas extended their unbeaten streak to six (4-2-0) and now find themselves in 7th place with 19 points. In falling 2-1 to Guadalajara, the host Xolos dropped into 13th, behind Atlético de San Luis for the final playoff berth on goal differential (–6 to –7).