Tijuana - Pumas finish 1-1 as Juninho rescues Pumas and extends unbeaten run
In a rattling, end-to-end match at Estadio Caliente, tijuana - pumas ended 1-1 after Juninho converted a rebound in first-half stoppage time to salvage a point and keep Pumas unbeaten in the Clausura 2026.
Tijuana opened the scoring; Juninho equalized before halftime
Ramiro Árciga put the home side ahead with a powerful strike from the edge of the box that took a deflection and crossed the line at the 40th minute. Four minutes later, Juninho pushed a rebound off the post into the net at the 44th minute to level the match; that was the Brazilian forward's fourth goal of the campaign.
Tijuana - Pumas: how the action unfolded
Both teams produced chances after halftime. Pedro Vite tested the crossbar with a long-range effort early in the second half that bounced near the goal line, but neither side could find a winner. Keylor Navas had several important interventions in the Pumas area but could not prevent Árciga's opener.
Starting lineups and selections
Tijuana started with: José Antonio Rodríguez, Rafael Fernández, Unai Bilbao, Jackson Porozo, Jesús Vega, Iván Tona, Kevin Castañeda, Ramiro Árciga, Ignacio Rivero, Domingo Blanco and Mourad Daoudi.
Pumas lined up with: Keylor Navas, Rodrigo López, Nathan Silva, Ángel Azuaje, Álvaro Angulo, Pedro Vite, Adalberto Carrasquilla, Alan Medina, Jordan Carrillo, Juninho and Robert Morales. Coach Efraín Juárez chose an offensive XI and the side showed determination on the challenging pitch.
Standings, streaks and team notes
Pumas stretched its run to eight jornadas without defeat in the Clausura 2026 and sit provisionally in second place with 16 units, behind Chivas with 18. Tijuana have gone six jornadas without a victory — five draws and one defeat — and occupy tenth place with nine units.
Pumas sit three jornadas away from matching their best start in league history. The club previously began the Clausura 2011 with an 11-match unbeaten run (seven wins and four draws). In the Apertura 2020 season, the university side compiled 10 matches without a loss (six wins and four draws) and reached the final, which they lost to León.
For Tijuana, the squad continues to cope without Gil Mora; the young Mexican attacker has missed much of the tournament due to a muscular injury and his absence remains a concern for the Xolos.
Other Liga MX results from the same round
Querétaro and Santos Laguna played a 2-2 draw. Mateo Coronel opened for Querétaro at the 13th minute and Santiago Homenchenko converted a penalty at the 30th minute. For Santos, Lucas Di Yorio finished a penalty at the 23rd minute and Carlos Gruezo scored at 45'+6'. Santos remain the only team without a victory, with two points; Querétaro sit 15th with six units.
Mazatlán beat Pachuca 1-0 when Dudu Teodora scored in the second minute of first-half stoppage time. Mazatlán have three jornadas without defeat and sit 14th with seven points; Pachuca are fifth with 14 points.
Ciudad Juárez ended a five-match winless run by defeating Atlas 3-1. The victory leaves Ciudad Juárez 13th with seven points; Atlas dropped to sixth with 13.
Website error notice found in match context
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Pumas will return to Ciudad Universitaria to receive Toluca on Tuesday 3 March at 21: 10 horas, tiempo del centro de México. Tijuana will visit Atlas at Estadio Jalisco on Wednesday 4 March at 21: 00 horas, tiempo del centro de México.
