Coming into the match, both Santos and Pachuca needed a win to help bolster their Liguilla ambitions. Pachuca had an opportunity to go as high as sixth in the table, while Santos could have potentially leapfrogged Tuzo had they beaten them by more than three goals. Instead, both wound up with a solitary point with Pachuca staying in eighth place and Santos remaining in ninth.
The game started out slow, as neither team could really get much going. Both teams spent most of the first quarter hour probing the other for weaknesses but finding none. Sometimes passes went to no one in particular or fouls were committed to strategically slow the run of play, but more often than not it was good defending that intercepted a final pass or stopped a run forward.