Monterrey vs U.N.A.M. - Pumas Match Recap - Oct 19, 2025

Resilient Pumas Frustrate Monterrey With Gritty Draw in Monterrey’s Push for the Summit

The script at Estadio BBVA had seemed all but written: high-flying Monterrey, a club with championship credentials and home advantage, facing a U.N.A.M. Pumas side floundering in the depths of Liga MX’s mid-table. Yet as the October evening settled, the narrative bent to something more stubborn—a 1-1 draw, shaped by missed chances, a moment’s brilliance each side, and the steely resolve of a Pumas squad refusing to bow to the standings.

Monterrey, occupying fourth place and chasing leaders who feel increasingly within reach, entered Sunday brimming with confidence, their recent form suggesting a return to the Liga MX elite. Victories over Santos Laguna and Queretaro signaled renewed purpose following September’s humbling at Toluca, and a two-goal fightback at Tijuana last time out showed both tenacity and a measure of audacity. For Pumas, 11th in the table and battered by recent defeats—three losses out of their last four—this test appeared, on paper, a step too far.

Yet the embattled visitors carried themselves with a quiet optimism that belied their recent record. Monterrey pressed early, dominating possession and pinning Pumas deep, but the final ball lacked venom. Germán Berterame, so often the catalyst, found space but not precision, while Lucas Ocampos and Sergio Canales prodded without landing the decisive blow.

It was Pumas—disciplined, watchful, and patient—who struck first. In the 43rd minute, Alan Medina latched onto a loose clearance at the edge of the box, took one controlling touch, and lashed a low drive that evaded Esteban Andrada’s reach. For a moment, the BBVA’s familiar roar was replaced by a hush; Medina’s goal, his second in as many months, gave Pumas the lead against the run of play and injected rare conviction into a squad long searching for it.

But if Monterrey’s season has been marked by anything, it is resilience. The hosts responded with a surge before the break, their attacking intent rewarded on the stroke of halftime. Pressing into the Pumas area, Berterame was brought down by a clumsy challenge, leaving the referee no doubt. Sergio Ramos, veteran defender and increasingly Monterrey’s heartbeat at both ends, dispatched the penalty with cool authority—his fourth of the campaign—levelling the score and restoring hope to the home crowd.

The second half unfolded as a test of wills. Monterrey, spurred by the equalizer, pressed forward, seeking the winner that would nudge them closer to top spot. Canales and Ocampos probed the gaps, while Pumas, marshaled by a resolute defensive line, seemed determined to leave Monterrey with a point—and perhaps a statement. The tension spilled over in the 74th minute, when a reckless tackle from a Monterrey player saw red, reducing the hosts to ten and fundamentally shifting the contest’s balance.

Pumas smelled opportunity, pushing forward with newfound urgency, but Andrada and an organized Monterrey back line held firm. Late chances fell at both ends—Ramos nearly glanced in a winning header, and Medina looked poised to double his tally—yet the scoreboard would not budge again.

For Monterrey, the result is a stumble in their ascendant run, two points dropped that could haunt their title aspirations in a campaign where margins are razor-thin. Still, with 26 points from 12 matches and just two defeats since August, they remain very much in contention, their destiny largely in their own hands as the calendar turns toward the season’s final stretch. The wounds of this draw, frustrating as they are, must heal swiftly; the pursuit of the summit allows little forgiveness for complacency.

For Pumas, battered by a bruising autumn, the evening’s grit may yet mark a turning point. With just one win in their last five but now back-to-back draws against top-half opponents, the sense of resolve is unmistakable. Medina’s emergence as a scoring threat, complemented by flashes of determination throughout the squad, offers Green-and-Gold supporters a sliver of optimism. With 13 points from 12, the road to the liguilla remains steep—but it is, at least, still navigable.

The rivalry’s latest chapter ends without a winner, and perhaps that is appropriate. For Monterrey, everything remains in play; for Pumas, a reminder that the scoreboard often masks the depth of transformation beneath the surface. Both sides leave Estadio BBVA with work to do—and, crucially, hope that their season’s story is not yet fully written.