León snatch draw against Pumas in first leg of Guardianes final
A 10-man León side levelled the score towards the end of the 90 minutes of the first leg, when José Ramírez assisted Emmanuel Gigliotti inside the box.
Pumas and León equalized 1-1 at the Olímpico Universitario in the first leg of the final of the 2020 Guardianes tournament. The first half wasdynamic and the home team’s high press didn’t allow the team from Guanajuato control the ball.
The first clear chance of the first half came in the 30th minute after a powerful long-distance shot from León captain Luis Montes. The ball bounced before entering the box, but Pumas goalkeeper González, was able to clear it.
Just before both teams returned to their locker rooms, Juan Iturbe created a wonderful give-and-go with Dinenno and the No 11 shot a cannon, but León keeper Rodolfo Cota was able to block the shot to send the sides in level at the break.
The second half was not as open as the first 45 minutes and there were fewer chances created on both sides. It was not until the 72nd minute that Gutierrez made a great cross for Carlos González and his powerful header ended with the ball hitting the back of the net. Pumas then looked happy to settle for a 1-0 first leg lead.
A game-changing red card
With less than ten minutes remaining Jaine Barreiro put in a hefty challenge and the referee had no hesitation in showing him a second yellow card, reducing León to 10 men and handing Pumas the opportunity to capitalize on their advantage.
But the visiting team would have the last laugh: in the 89th minute José Ramirez broke through on the left side, lifted his head to locate Emmanuel Gigliotti and his low cross was so inch-perfect that the striker only had to tap home to equalize.
León will host Pumas on Sunday in the second leg of the final at the Nou Camp, were they haven’t lost a home game in over a year.