The title slipped away at home
Cruz Azul won their tenth league title on your pitch. At the Estadio Olímpico Universitario. The same sold-out CU that was supposed to carry Pumas over the line.
Jesús Orozco Chiquete summed it up bluntly: "Dimos la vuelta en su cancha y con su gente" (2). Jeremy Márquez also featured as Cruz Azul celebrated in front of nearly 59,000 fans, most of them yours.
The defensive structure that got Pumas through the 0–0 away leg couldn't hold. Keylor Navas, heroic in the first leg, was beaten. The trophy slipped away in your own house.
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Juárez could walk
As if the loss wasn't enough, reports now link manager Efraín Juárez with a move to European football (1). The same man who built this resilient, defensively structured Pumas side, the one that took the final to a second leg and nearly pulled it off, might not be around to finish the job.
No confirmation yet, but the timing stings.
Anselmi watches his old club celebrate
Martín Anselmi, the former Cruz Azul manager, reacted to his old team beating Pumas for the title (3). Seeing the coach you once faced now watching from afar as Cruz Azul lifts the trophy at your stadium adds another layer of frustration.
A 2020 video predicted this
Paco Maya and Franco Escamilla appear in a clip from 2020 that resurfaced after the final, predicting Cruz Azul would win the 2026 title against Pumas (4). Six years ago, someone called this exact scenario. Fans are sharing it everywhere.
Fan reactions
Pumas supporters are crushed. The mood online swings between heartbreak over losing a final at home and frustration with the officiating. Juárez's earlier criticism of the refereeing still echoes. Many feel Keylor Navas deserved better after his heroic away-leg performance. See the discussion here.
