Tigres UANL ended a four-match winless run on Saturday night, defeating Puebla 1-0 at Estadio Universitario in Liga MX Apertura 2026 Jornada 10. Juan Brunetta converted a second-half penalty, awarded after a VAR review for a Facundo Almada handball, to give Víctor Manuel Vucetich’s team only its second victory of the tournament.
- Result: Tigres UANL 1-0 Puebla
- Goals: Juan Brunetta 52′ (penalty)
- Competition: Liga MX Apertura 2026, Jornada 10
- Venue: Estadio Universitario, San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León
Tigres UANL vs Puebla Match Recap
The first half ended scoreless, with Puebla’s Alejandro Organista booked in the 17th minute. The match turned early in the second half. Referee Vicente Reynoso Arce went to the monitor in the 49th minute to review a possible handball by Facundo Almada, and the VAR confirmed the penalty. Brunetta stepped up and beat Puebla goalkeeper Ricardo Gutiérrez in the 52nd minute for the only goal of the night.
Tigres UANL pushed for a second but could not find one. Ozziel Herrera struck the post in the 56th minute, and Gutiérrez denied Brunetta from close range in the 62nd. Puebla offered little in response; Ignacio Maestro Puch’s effort went off target in the 67th minute, and Nahuel Guzmán preserved the clean sheet by saving a stoppage-time shot on target.
The match kicked off at 21:10 Mexico Central after Liga MX moved it from its original 19:00 slot to avoid overlapping with Mexico’s friendly against Colombia (where to watch details for this fixture).
Three Takeaways From Tigres UANL vs Puebla
1. Brunetta’s Penalty Decided a Match Short on Clear Chances
Juan Brunetta held his nerve from the penalty spot to score the only goal of the match, converting in the 52nd minute after a lengthy VAR review. It was a night of fine margins for the midfielder: Ricardo Gutiérrez denied him from close range ten minutes later, but the penalty was enough. With the two teams producing few clear chances before the review, the handball call was the decisive moment.
2. The Winless Run Is Over, and Tigres UANL Climbed Out of the Bottom Three
Tigres UANL had not won since a 2-0 victory over Atlante on August 21, going four league matches without a victory. This was only the club’s second win of Apertura 2026, and it lifted Vucetich’s team from 16th to 14th with 10 points, four behind the Liguilla line. The interim manager gets some breathing room after a turbulent stretch that included Gerardo Torrado’s August exit as sporting director.
3. Puebla Dropped Out of the Direct Liguilla Places
Puebla arrived at Estadio Universitario on 14 points, level with the eighth-place cutline, but left in ninth after the defeat dropped them outside the top eight that advance directly to the Liguilla quarterfinals. There is no Play-In in Apertura 2026. Puebla has now gone three league matches without a win, losing to Toluca and Tigres UANL around a draw with Atlante.
What the Result Means
Tigres UANL sits 14th with 10 points from 10 matches, four points behind eighth-place Tijuana, with the standings still provisional pending Sunday’s Jornada 10 matches. Puebla stayed on 14 points and dropped to ninth, outside the direct Liguilla places on the tiebreaker. The gap is small and the season is young, but Puebla now needs results to reclaim a top-eight spot, while Tigres UANL has finally given itself a foundation to build on.
What Comes Next
Liga MX pauses after Jornada 10 for the remainder of the international break, with Jornada 11 scheduled for October 9 to 11. Tigres UANL hosts Toluca on Friday, October 9, at Estadio Universitario (9:00 PM CT), while Puebla hosts León the same evening at Estadio Cuauhtémoc. Check FutnSoccer’s Liga MX viewing hub for U.S. TV and streaming information as Jornada 11 approaches.
