Top Stories

Mexican clubs sweep MLS on wild night in CONCACAF Champions League

Real Salt Lake looked set to end the curse, ready to become the first MLS team to win a competitive match on Mexican soil after 20 failed attempts. Up two goals with three minutes to go, RSL had a win in the bag.

Nobody told Cruz Azul.

The Mexican club rattled off three straight goals to take a 4-3 lead, then found one more goal to cancel out a Will Johnson equalizer in a 5-4 victory at Estadio Azul.

The stirring comeback highlighted a forgettable night for MLS clubs, with the Seattle Sounders being outplayed in a 2-0 loss to Monterrey at Qwest Field.

The losses dropped MLS to 0-4 in group play this week after a promising 3-1 start last week. Real Salt Lake's defeat dropped the club into a four-way tie in Group A, while Seattle fell to 0-2 with two road games up next on the schedule.

In cased you missed the fireworks in Mexico, or Seattle's loss to Monterrey, here are the highlights for both matches:

CRUZ AZUL 5, REAL SALT LAKE 4

MONTERREY 2, SEATTLE SOUNDERS 0

What did you think of Wednesday's matches? Still can't believe RSL lost? Disappointed with Seattle's performance? Starting to wonder if an MLS team will ever win in Mexico?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I was at the game. Agree that we weren’t really outplayed, but were definitely out-finished. We controlled most of the game, and the ball lived in our attacking third for much of the night. The difference? We had five or six legit scoring opportunities and converted zero. Monterrey had three legit scoring opportunities and converted two. Boo.

    As to your question about fans: I noticed at least three separate families where the parents were wearing Monterrey or Mexican national team gear while the kids were decked out in Sounders jerseys and tees. I do think that generational shift is already occurring.

    Reply
  2. Don’t bring altitude into play, I think the conditions were even for both teams, except the bad call. RSL had Cruz Azul at 3-1, they gave up.

    Reply
  3. I dont think Seattle was outplayed overall last night.

    Mabye outmatched as Monterrey was a more talented team.

    The problem Seattle has is they are outplayed when it counts. Can’t finish and give up dumb goals.

    I see why Chivas USA doesn’t draw. There were a LOT of people rooting for Monterrey in Seattle. A LOT.

    Do their kids end up rooting for the Sounders ?

    Reply
  4. I was at Qwest last night. Great environment. Made friends with the Mexican supporters sitting around me. While the Sounders controlled a lot of the play, especially in the first half, I thought Monterrey was clearly a notch better and deserved the win. The ability to finish being the biggest difference.

    Reply
  5. This was the first thing I though when I saw the goal. But to me it seems that the ball did stop just before the player hit it.

    Reply
  6. From my view at Qwest last night, Seattle was not outplayed at all. They had a good share of possession and a big advantage in shots. Monterrey was just a touch cleaner in front of the net when it counted – a familiar post-game refrain for Sounders matches.

    If Nyassi doesn’t hit the post early second half… oh well.

    Reply
  7. RSL lost their legs around 72 minutes, and they’d gone completely wobbly by 85. It’s tough at that altitude. I don’t think Kreis saw that coming when he decided to pull his best possession guys.

    Reply
  8. What are the chances of an MLS team and an FMF team join together in a partnership similar to that of the Chivas clubs to? This would be a great way of developing talent on both ends and maybe even creating buzz for both leagues in the other countries.

    Reply
  9. “For both direct and indirect free kicks, the ball must be stationary when the
    kick is taken..”
    Directly from FIFA’s Laws of the Game. Incorrect offside calls that rob legitimate goals suck, but they happen. But Cruz Azul’s first goal was in direct violation of FIFA’s Law 13, and the ref was STANDING RIGHT THERE!
    Total BS.
    Rage aside, you can’t win the game if you don’t win 90+ minutes, and RSL only won about 80 (I mean the time they controlled the game, not the time they had the lead).

    Reply
  10. what makes you think officiating will ever change even MLS has crap refereeing. Its been a problem in this region for decades. all of central america is too poor and dont have the adequate infrastructure to improve their leagues let alone the refereeing. the mexican league even has problems with it. but with their resources they are the only country the has the infrastructure to maintain high standards. well except that crap stadium azul plays in.

    Reply
  11. Add RSL to the long list of last minute collapses by MLS teams geesh it happens every fricking year. I even called it yesterday. A got a six pack for being right. The last two goals are soley on that rookie defender that played instead of olave. Lost his man on the goal that tied it and kicked the ball out to the top of the box instead of just clearing it out out of bounds. letting 4 goals in like that is embarrassing. Kries blew it by taking out espindola and morales. Should of waited till the 89 to pull one of them out. Well i hope they learn their lesson. Every MLS time needs to watch these meltdowns before going to mexico theres so many its not even funny. Montezumas curse continues

    Reply
  12. Hey, they were never up no two goals with three minutes to go.

    (SBI-Cruz Azul scored its second goal at the 87th-minute mark, so yes, RSL was up two with three minutes left (not including stoppage time of course).)

    Reply
  13. Seattle was out matched by a better team plain and simple, don’t care about the “what ifs” they played their best line up and couldn’t score at home. They are done in this competition, hope they play reserves the rest of the games and save the starters for MLS games. playing all of their startes in this game is going to hurt them on Saturday when they face Chicago.

    Reply
  14. I assumed intelligence and, if correct, I believe he’s referring to the stupid matches vs. Tottenham, City, Sporting, Celtic and such where big stars actually play. If he’s referring to those, then he has a legitimate point.

    Reply
  15. The problem with MLS is similar to the problem with the USMNT: teams don’t value possession of the ball. When the opponent is able to dominate possession and turn up the pressure, more often than not the opponent will find a way to score against you.

    This isn’t a new problem for MLS, nor is it confined to Mexico. I remember vividly a game that DC United played in Chile in Copa Sudamericana like 5 years ago against one of the big teams in S. America (Universidad Catolica). DC United were up by 2 goals early in the game, and by 1 goal with 15 minutes to play, yet allowed the Chileans to dominate possession and pile on the pressure, and of course the Chileans scored twice in the last 15 minutes to move on to the quarterfinals of the tournament. Same old, same old.

    MLS teams are slowly valuing the ball more — most (IMO) because they are bringing in foreigners who understand the value of possession. But without those players, the American players (and American coaches) just don’t understand (or aren’t able) to keep possession at the end of the game to relieve pressure and run out the clock.

    Reply
  16. I enjoyed watching both games. Only watched the second half of the RSL game and all of the Seattle game and the officiating seemed fair to me.

    Monterrey keeper had some great saves. Had he let one go through, you wonder how much more entertaining that game would have been. Oh, and Seattle crowds are greatness.

    Reply
  17. Yes, Seattle was outplayed. The game was pretty even but there is no doubt Monterrey was the better team. If Nyassi’s goal goes in then Monterrey simple would’ve taken back control of the ball and score another one. They are that good. No shame on losing to them, Monterrey is one of the best, if not the best, teams in Mexico right now.

    Reply
  18. Seattle was “outscored”, but do you really think Seattle was “outplayed”? The shots were 17-7 (7-2) in favor of Seattle, and if Nyassi’s goal post goes in it would have been a very different match.

    Reply
  19. Hey, “They call me DYNCE!”: I hear what you are saying but MLS will not pull out of the competition. It is not going to happen. CONCACAF will not let them. The USSF is one of Jack Warner’s biggest supporters. I can’t see Sunil and company letting that happen…

    Reply
  20. Ouch, that hurt. Sounders are all but done.

    I thought the officiating in the Sounder’s game was fine. The game was entertaining, with Monterrey looking very good.

    Sounders had many chances and didn’t score.

    Monterrey had many chances and did.

    The next two home games might be a little brutal to rally for, but….

    I hope the Sounders can make it to CCL next year. I enjoyed the two games I went to a lot.

    Reply
  21. disappointing? sure. but RSL lost that game fair and simple. they had control but decided to quit pushing and took out their two great possession players (forget their names). they just sat back and let cruz azul fire shot after shot.

    Bad officiating, yeah. But the blame should rest squarely on RSLs’ collective shoulders. (it was also an exciting match. Really fun and painful to watch.)

    Reply
  22. Yeah RSL looked like they were on their way to winning when they were up 3-1 with 15 mins to go. Then they subbed out the Argentines, rest is history.

    Reply
  23. The officiating needs to improve drastically in this region. The calls seem to favor the non-MLS teams (from the matches I’ve seen). If there are going to be bad calls, make sure its even, but there definitely seems to be a bias against MLS teams. I could be biased too since I’m favoring MLS but just watch these matches. The refs need to be held to a higher standard and accuracy of calls won’t change unless CONCACAF takes action. I agree with what someone above metioned, if the calls continue to be ridiculously blown, MLS should definitely consider pulling out of the tournament for the integrity of the game.

    Regardless, I think for most of the Azul vs RSL match, RSL did a fantastic job playing the game, sticking to their plan, even when they were not getting the calls. Kudos to that, and I think they should be applauded for this and serve as an example for how to approach these international matches (of course minus the melt down at the end).

    Reply
  24. All this time I thought MLS teams had a hard time winning in Mexico partly because of intimidating crowds. Then I see that RSL highlight video and there is barely anyone at that game.

    Reply
  25. We have it worse in Puerto Rico (I know, stating the obvious).

    It’s just not practical to delay a match until 2am in the morning and the clubs already have to be headed somewhere else by the next day in most cases.

    Not too mention the expense of getting them there to play in the first place.

    Reply
  26. It was pouring rain the whole game. How exactly would you have liked them to “clean up the pitch.”

    I thought that game was most of the most entertaining games I have watched in a very long time.

    Reply
  27. Just when you thought Seattle’s jerseys couldn’t get worst, they go highlighter on our asses. Seattle getting shut out at home is embarrassing for MLS.

    Pretty pathetic game in Mexico. Not sure why the officials didn’t delay the match and clean up the pitch. Oh yeah, they’re CONCACAF officials.

    Reply
  28. Mexican teams are already hard enough to beat let alone the horrible refs who repeatedly disallow one MLS goal after another while allowing goals against MLS that shouldnt count like the first Cruz Azul goal. If MLS had any self respect, pull out of this unfair tournament. For God’s sake, we all saw on TV where the officials gave Renteria the go to enter the pitch. Only for them to card him FOR LISTENING TO THEM. This tournament is trash

    Reply
  29. seattle is already finished. their group is too hard.

    why are MLS teams playing friendlies in the middle of the season? focus on games that count.

    Reply
  30. Slightly disappointed with the RSL finish, though it was one of the more exciting matches i’ve seen in a long time. Anything can (and did) happen when the field gets so waterlogged the way it did in Mexico.

    Still…. pretty terrible officiating in the first 5 minutes or so. Johnson was robbed by an offsides call, and Cruz Azul first goal was suspect at best.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to fesc1 Cancel reply