Pumas already has managed to do something this year it couldn't last year - beat Mexico City rival Cruz Azul in the knockout stage of the CONCACAF Champions League.

It's 1-0 victory last week sends it to Estadio Azul on Tuesday, 90 minutes from competing for the title.

"Whenever you win, it's a good taste, but 90 minutes are gone and now it's at their field," Pumas coach Ricardo (Tuca) Ferretti said. "There is no big deal. We're well aware of the stage, and we've played good matches there."

Pablo Barrera scored the lone goal in the opening leg, much to the delight of the 26,500 at Olimpico Universitario, the largest crowd of the season in the Champions League and the second most in the two-year history of the competition.

Pumas, however, must recover from a 1-0 loss Saturday at Monterrey which dropped it to third place in the Mexican Clausura's Group 3, two points behind Cruz Azul and three behind Santos. It lost the game when Walter Ayovi converted a 63^rd-minute penalty kick after Sergio Bernal was ejected with a red card.

"I hope to recover this group as soon as possible," Pumas coach Ferretti said. "We have a game on Tuesday, the second leg match for the semifinals played against a team that is very important in Cruz Azul. We must recover mentally, but mainly on the physical aspect."

Cruz Azul, which lost to Atlante in last year's final, will hope to regroup at home.

"I liked the attitude of the team. I really liked it," Cruz Azul coach Enrique Meza said referring to the loss to Pumas. "We played against a rival who usually plays well, has a wealth of experience despite its youth…I'm fine, but I cannot think that this is a good result because we came here looking not even draw, we were thinking about winning."

La Maquina got back on track in the Mexican Clausura on Saturday, beating Queretaro 1-0 at Estadio Azul, pulling it within a point of Santos.

"It was important we had opportunities," Meza said Saturday night. "You cannot always get it right. Today we had some, it seems clear, and eventually got an important win because the opponent is very uncomfortable."

Argentine Christian Gimenez scored for a second consecutive week after being held goalless since his transfer from Pachuca in December.

"Christian is a player who has a good temperament, a very good player who is going to get goals," Meza said. "But he does not have to obsess with the goal, because sometimes that's when things go wrong."