After 15 years of frustration in their quest to end their title drought, Pumas UNAM seem poised to change that history in this Clausura 2026 tournament, mercilessly crushing their opponents. Pumas defeated Santos Laguna 4-0, thus maintaining their unbeaten streak. A victory where Pumas capitalized on all the weaknesses of their opponent, who seemed intent on sacking Spanish coach Francisco Rodriguez, who has yet to win a match in four games, managing only one draw and suffering four defeats. This disparity in their league record was evident, and Pumas took full advantage of the instability shown by Rodriguez's tactics. It appears Rodriguez wasn't warned that playing aggressively at Ciudad Universitaria is almost suicidal, and this seemed to be the case when, by the 20th minute, the Pumas already had a 2-0 lead with the first of two goals from former Santos Laguna player Jordan Carrillo and Panamanian Adalberto Carrasquilla. This performance also allowed the Pumas, managed by Efrain Juarez, to break a nearly 90-day winless streak at the Estadio Olimpico, and now, with victories over Tigres in Matchday 2 and Now in fourth place, their position above Santos Laguna allows them to be behind Chivas and Cruz Azul, who occupy the lead with nine points, demonstrating that they seem to have the spark to fight for important things.

The Match

The fact that Pumas came out strong from the first minute caused Santos Laguna to lose their defensive positioning, and with a fast-paced offense where Alan Medina, Jordan Carrillo, and the Brazilian Juninho were well supported by the Panamanian Adalberto Carrasquilla, they quickly turned the match in their favor.

First, Carrillo made it 1-0 in the 11th minute when he headed in a cross from Medina that left his former teammate Carlos Acevedo with no chance, giving the Pumas a boost of confidence. Smelling blood, they went on the attack, and in the 20th minute, Adalberto Carrasquilla made it 2-0 with a shot from outside the box.

Afterwards, Santos tried to turn things around, but their formation seemed disjointed, allowing Jordan Carrillo to make it 3-0 in the 31st minute with his second goal of the night, practically turning the game into a one-sided affair.

Then Alan Medina arrived to make it 4-0, creating a true catastrophe for the Laguneros, who were now feeling the full force of the onslaught, as all their actions were defensive and they couldn't create any attacking opportunities.

Uriel Antuna's Debut

With a 4-0 lead, Pumas were able to bring on their latest signing, Uriel Antuna, to get into rhythm. He looked lively and eager to get on the scoreboard, and Guillermo Martinez also returned to the pitch after a long injury.

The three goals seemed to spur Santos Laguna on, but they didn't back down.

And they went in search of their rivals, trying to cause damage to the goal of Costa Rican Keylor Navas, resulting in an end-to-end duel, where the Pumas goal was threatened and they almost managed to narrow the score. But Santos' hopes were soon dashed when goalkeeper Carlos Acevedo had to leave the game due to concussion protocol, giving way to substitute goalkeeper Hector Holguin, thus closing out the game with some danger from Pumas, but nothing to further change the score.