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CONCACAF Champions League: Your Running Commentary

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A day after the Columbus Crew became the latest MLS team to fall to Mexican opposition in Mexico (and fall victim to questionable officiating), Real Salt Lake will look to become the first team in league history to win an official match on Mexican soil when it faces Cruz Azul tonight (8pm, Fox Soccer Channel).

Real Salt Lake opened its CONCACAF Champions League group stage campaign with a victory against Arabe Unido, but today's match at Estadio Azul will provide a much tougher test. There is also the history of Mexican dominance over MLS (with Mexican clubs holding an 18-0-2 record at home against MLS team).

Tonight features two MLS vs. FMF tilts, as the Seattle Sounders play host to Mexican side Monterrey at Qwest Field. The Sounders need a win at home today to avoid an 0-2 start in group play.

The Puerto Rico Islanders are also in action tonight, playing host to CD FAS in Puerto Rico.

If you will be watching tonight's matches, please feel free to share your own thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action.

Comments

  1. Of course we’re coming up short. The Mexican Primera Division was founded in 1943 and futbol is their national sport. Our league is only 14 years old. It would be unrealistic to think we would be on par with them in less than one generation.

    MLS is making great progress. Seriously. The quality of play is so much better than in the late 90’s, and lightyears ahead of the NASL.

    We’re going to be fine.

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  2. blame it all. there are always multiple factors to anything. the refs and RSL’s inability to close out the game were the reason the game ended the way it did. i’m not saying the overall outcome would have been different if RSL had not had a disallowed goal or Azul given an illegal goal…azul could have still won…but it certainly affected the game.

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  3. Yeah… minor things like wrongly disallowed goals on games decided by a single goal. Don’t you have a Euro game to watch somewhere?

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  4. This has been a pretty bizarre set of games in the Champions League, and I think a lot of the officiating complaints are warranted, but I hope this general theme of blaming the ref doesn’t become a knee-jerk reaction. It’s like that in some countries and thankfully mostly absent in the US

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  5. The sounders were out played. That said they created some good chances and had a good goal called back on a _very_ strange call. We didn’t deserve a point but in the context of all the other strange goals called back I’m wondering if the league would be better off just pulling out of the tournament alltogether.

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  6. RSL was up 3-1 with 15 min left. No way you can blame the refs on that match. Blame Jason Kreis, RSL Defense or the rain but don’t blame the refs. RSL had it in the bag an they let it go. 4 goals in 20 minutes. Please.

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  7. The flag didn’t even go up until after the goal had been scored, but neither situation is offside.

    Jaqua was behind Montero on the shot.

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  8. Complaining about the referees is the main reason people are posting. Sad really, we watched two very good games and yet people keep talking about the non-issues.

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  9. when did they say the offside occurred? when the first cross was made (which was deflected, or cleared, by the defender…poorly)? Or did they call jaqua offsides for being past the second to last defender as the shot occurred (resulting from the earlier, deflected cross)?

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  10. As I understand the Laws, a ball that deflects off a defender does NOT affect the offside call. If you were onside before the deflection by the defender, you remain onside.

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  11. Good game between Seattle and Monterrey. You all can blame the referee all you want but Monterrey was the bettter team…..by far.

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  12. If you’re an MLS player, why bother even showing up. You can almost guarantee that you would be screwed by the officials, and it will affect the scoreline.

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  13. personally, i think the FSC announcer is dead wrong. watch the FIFA Law 11 tutorial on their website (google it). Even if the ball comes off the defender, it is offsides. The exception being when it is a direct, and obvious back pass that is intercepted. which i do not think that header was.

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  14. Why is MLS so pathetic in CCL? It’s really disheartening. These Mexican sides aren’t all that much better. But they play with more confidence. The MLS teams looked like scared children.

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  15. No need to hate on the good citizens of those countries. Let’s speak the truth, our MLS team simply aren’t good enough yet. Even winning a road game in Trinidad and Tobago is a tough task to ask from most MLS clubs.

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