Luis Puente put Atlante ahead after Andrés Gudiño made the mistake that turned Cruz Azul’s opening spell into a deficit at the Estadio Azteca. The goal stood as the first of the match and came from a high ball that left Gudiño exposed in the air.
That is why Luis Puente is being searched now: he finished the move that made it 0-1 in Cruz Azul vs. Atlante in Jornada 3 of Torneo Apertura 2026. The sequence mattered because the ball came toward the penalty spot from the right side, where Puente rose above Gudiño and pushed it into the net after Cruz Azul had already been put on edge by a long shot that hit the post.
The buildup had already hinted at nerves from Gudiño. Just before the goal, he tracked a long-distance attempt, lifted his hands and watched it strike the post, a moment that seemed to leave him unsettled before the next cross arrived. But the finish was not only about hesitation. Puente still had to win the aerial duel, and he did, turning a loose defensive moment into the opening goal for Atlante.
Joel Huiqui had sent out an alternate lineup against the Potros de Hierro, adding another layer to a match that was already carrying weight because Cruz Azul entered as the reigning Liga MX champion. That context made the early setback more than a routine goal against; it landed against a side trying a different setup and still could not prevent Atlante from drawing first blood at the Estadio Azteca.
The unanswered piece is the exact minute of the goal, but the significance is already clear: Atlante has the first decisive moment, Gudiño carries the error, and Puente owns the finish that changed the tone of the match.
