Atlas Upset Defending Champs Pumas 4-1

Defending champion Pumas continued its run of abysmal form, shipping four goals at home to lowly Atlas, which could not move off the bottom of the table despite the emphatic win. Jahir Barraza was on target twice for the visiting side, which collected a much-needed three points.

While Pumas' Martin Bravo had two good looks against Atlas goalkeeper Miguel Pinto denied early on, the visitors took a shock lead on 31 minutes through Ricardo Bocanegra after Francisco Torres found him open outside the area to finish with a powerful shot. Balance was restored five minutes later when Francisco Palencia scored with a volley as Atlas was clearing its lines from a corner kick, but the strike would only serve to postpone Atlas' onslaught until after the break.

The first blow came in the 48th minute as Barraza got in behind and held off his defender to fire past Antonio Palacios, setting the tone for the whole half. The visitors' second half surge continued 10 minutes later as Barraza found himself off to the races , taking the ball from the halfway line past a retreating Pumas defense before coolly finishing one-on-one.

Daniel Arreola made it 4-1 to Atlas with the team's third goal in 15 minutes, picking up a pass down the left from Flavio Santos and beating Palacios from well outside the area with a fierce shot that left the poorly-positioned goalkeeper with no chance. Pumas was unable to muster anything following that blow, and there are plenty of worrying signs for Guillermo Vazquez's men, who have now been outscored 8-2 in their last two games.

Posted in: Atlas,UNAM Pumas