MEXICO CITY: Striker Roque Santa Cruz played with a red bandage after a clash of heads and captain Gerardo Torrado was shown the red card in his 300th match for Cruz Azul as they could only draw in the Mexican championship.
Held 1-1 at home by Atlas on Saturday, the Blue Machine were booed off their Estadio Azul pitch after their first point in three matches leaves them in fifth place in the Clausura standings after nine matches.
Forward Alejandro Vela put Cruz Azul ahead near the half hour mark but Juan Medina equalised in the 75th minute and former Mexico international midfielder Torrado was shown a straight red card for dissent, which included insulting the referee.
"I complained to the referee that there was a foul in the move that led to the (Atlas) goal I made a mistake when I insulted him I went and told him there was a foul, he said 'no' and I lost my head," Torrado told reporters.
Torrado, who has been at Cruz Azul for nearly a decade since joining them from Racing Santander in 2005, is looking for a first Mexican championship, having won the Copa MX knockout competition and the CONCACAF Champions League with them.
Paraguay captain Santa Cruz, who had missed the previous six matches through injury, clashed heads with Atlas's Argentine defender Walter Kannemann when challenging for a high ball.
Cruz Azul made a six-match unbeaten start to the championship but have gone off the boil while Tijuana took the lead which they clung to on Saturday with a 1-1 draw at Santos Laguna that leaves them one point ahead of Veracruz.
Second-placed Veracruz enjoyed 24 hours at the top of the table after Friday's 1-0 home win over Leon, who had three players set off in the final 12 minutes.
Ronaldinho's Queretaro ended a run of six matches without a win when they beat relegation-threatened Guadalajara 1-0 on Friday with a stoppage-time goal by midfielder Mario Osuna.
Guadalajara remain two from bottom of the relegation standings based on teams' average points over three seasons. The team at the bottom of the table at the end of the season will be relegated.
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