When it involves the Pumas UNAM, the one certainty is uncertainty. In that sense, Wednesday evening’s first-leg of the Concacaf Champions League remaining lived as much as its billing in a match crammed with surprises, twists and VAR-filled drama. By the point the ultimate whistle blew, the Pumas had thrown away a two-goal lead in a 2-2 draw that felt like a loss for a workforce who departed the Estadio Olímpico Universitario questioning what might have been. In distinction, Seattle head dwelling for the second leg upbeat after escaping what had seemed like a heavy defeat.
Drama peppered the match: 4 VAR critiques, and the identical variety of penalties, the final of which was scored within the ninth minute of added time by Nicolás Lodeiro to present the Sounders a vital draw.
#SCCL22 | 🏆📹 | RESUMEN DEL PARTIDO 👀@SoundersFC consiguió el empate frente a @PumasMX al remaining del juego.
Par de goles de Juan Dinenno ⚽️⚽️ y Nicolás Lodeiro ⚽️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/0f0qMiiCVE
Contemplating that the match was performed in entrance of a raucous crowd, Seattle’s comeback was no minor feat. The Seattle Timesdubbed the draw as “gorgeous”, whereas Mexico Metropolis’s Document, bemoaned the truth that the Pumas “let the triumph escape.” One other Mexican sports activities day by day, Esto, posed the query: “Goodbye to the glory?”
Match “glory” and overachievement has lengthy been an apt description for the Pumas, a membership typified by low-budget payrolls and promising younger gamers, together with subpar common season performances which might be typically coupled with jaw-dropping post-season upsets and comebacks. Simply final month within the Concacaf Champions League quarter-finals, the Pumas got here again from a 3-0 deficit towards the New England Revolution to drive a penalty shootout, which they duly gained.
On Wednesday, although, it was the Pumas have been on the flawed finish of a dramatic comeback. Previewing the match, former USA worldwide Herculez Gomez stated the Pumas would “fairly be an underdog”. That was not the case towards the Sounders, and the Pumas have been main 2-0 because the match entered the ultimate phases. The Pumas seemed uncomfortable within the driver’s seat and it was the Sounders who summoned the underdog spirit in entrance of a hostile crowd, which acted as a twelfth man and helped spur their workforce to an early lead, because the rain drove down in Mexico Metropolis. The house followers tossed beer and yelled expletives in unison at any vital name that went towards them. Within the 77th minute, the Sounders pressured a handball and Lodeiro cooly transformed the primary of his two profitable penalties of the evening. He was the proper man for the job: he has transformed 92% of his penalties over his profession (as compared Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s conversion charges are 77% and 83% respectively).
The comeback was not a whole shock. Seattle’s coach, Brian Schmetzer, was upbeat after the match and proudly pointed to Seattle’s “by no means give up” tradition. And his workforce have a historical past of comebacks to rival the Pumas: within the 2020 MLS Western Convention remaining they overturned a 2-0 deficit to beat Minnesota United 3-2 in a match that Schmetzer dubbed “the most effective [Sounders] video games ever”.
Schmetzer lauded Lodeiro’s “psychological toughness” as a counter-example to those that believed his workforce have been intimidated by the ambiance inside Estadio Olímpico Universitario. And now the Pumas are those who've a hostile crowd to face at Seattle’s Lumen Discipline, the place the Sounders have drawn crowds near 70,000 for large video games. They’ll additionally take heed to the truth that they've an unimpressive document towards MLS golf equipment north of the border (three wins, two attracts and 5 losses).
The Pumas could nicely relish reverting to their acquainted standing as underdogs and can draw consolation from the truth that they've the event’s main scorer, Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Dinenno. He scored each of his workforce’s targets on Wednesday, together with the one non-penalty purpose of the evening, a really spectacular header off an ideal cross from Jesus Rivas. Seattle even have a poor document towards Liga MX groups (seven wins, three attracts and 9 losses) and try to turn into the primary MLS workforce to win the event in twenty years. Nevertheless, they are going to have a slight psychological benefit as hosts within the second leg, notably after their comeback in Mexico Metropolis.
Whatever the final result of the second leg, one among these groups will make their debut on the Membership World Cup. The Seattle Sounders official Twitter web page addressed the excessive stakes concerned with the next assertion: “CCL Ultimate: It’ s A Large F’ing Deal.”
It definitely will probably be and, inevitably, historical past will probably be made.
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