MEXICO CITY (AP): Hugo Droguett salvaged a point for Cruz Azul by scoring a late equaliser in a 3-3 draw with derby rival UNAM Pumas on Saturday in the third round of the Mexican Clausura championship.
Emanuel Villa and Horacio Cervantes had given Cruz Azul a 2-0 lead at half time, but two goals by Juan Carlos Cacho either side of Dario Veron's header put Pumas in front with 10 minutes to go. Droguett slotted the equalizer in the 83rd.
Elsewhere, reigning champion Monterrey claimed its first win in three with a 1-0 home victory against ten-man Atlante. In other results, Morelia won 3-0 at Queretaro, while both Guadalajara-San Luis and Santos Laguna-Pachuca ended 1-1.
On Friday, Atlas won 1-0 at Necaxa. Fixtures continue Sunday, with Puebla vs. Estudiantes Tecos, Toluca vs. Chiapas and America vs. UANL Tigres. After three rounds of matches, Atlas is the only team with maximum points.
In the Mexico City derby earlier Saturday, Villa prodded the ball home to give Cruz Azul the lead after the Pumas defence failed to clear a corner in the 25th minute.
A pass from Cervantes took a big deflection on the edge of the box to wrong-foot goalkeeper Alejandro Palacios in the 36th and give Cruz Azul a two-goal advantage at half time.
Martin Bravo scooped a cross into the path of Cacho to pull a goal back for Pumas with a volley after an hour and Veron levelled with a header from a corner in the 73rd.
Cacho then curled a shot in via the crossbar from 30 yards (metres) to give Pumas the lead in the 80th, but Droguett raced on to a pass from Cesar Villaluz to equalise the scores three minutes later.
In Monterrey, Humberto Suazo scored his first goal of the tournament after bursting through the defense in the second minute to give defending champion Rayados a first win of the season at home against Atlante.
Jorge Hernandez was sent off in the 73rd for the visitors. Suazo scored 15 goals in Monterrey's title win in the Apertura tournament, but has struggled for fitness after returning from holiday later than expected ahead of the Clausura campaign.
In the northern city of Torreon, Edgar Benitez scored a quickfire equaliser for Pachuca a minute after Daniel Luduena had given home team Santos the lead in the 44th minute. Santos held on for the draw despite a red card for Fernando Arce in the 74th.
Elsewhere, Chivas of Guadalajara took the lead against San Luis thanks to a headed goal from 18-year-old striker Erick Torres in the 67th minute, but Anibal Matellan scored a near-post header from a corner to level in the 76th.
Rafael Marquez Lugo scored in the 57th to put Morelia ahead at Queretaro. A Jaime Lozano penalty in the 80th and an Elias Hernandez strike in stoppage time completed the 3-0 win.
The Mexican season is split into two tournaments, the Apertura and Clausura. In each tournament, the 18 teams of the Primera Division play each other once, with a playoff system to decide the champion.
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