Major League Soccer saw two more teams advance to the group stage of the CONCACAF Champions League after Toronto FC and the Seattle Sounders both registered vital draws to win their respective play-in series.
Toronto FC posted a 2-2 draw against Honduran club CD Motagua. Former TFC midfielder Amado Guevara scored twice for Motagua, but Chad Barrett's equalizer gave Toronto the 3-2 series win on aggregate.
Seattle traveled to El Salvador and came away with its own 1-1 draw courtesy of a header from new Designated Player Alvaro Fernandez. The draw gave the Sounders a 2-1 series victory on aggregate.
The Los Angeles Galaxy will look to join Seattle and Toronto in the group stage by erasing a three-goal defict as it heads to Puerto Rico for the second leg of its series. Puerto Rico scored a shocking 4-1 victory at Home Depot Center last week.
Here are some other stories to get your Wednesday going:
KLJESTAN ASSISTS AGAIN
U.S. national team midfielder Sacha Kljestan has made a smooth transition to life with new club Anderlecht, with his latest impressive performance coming in the club's 3-0 Champions League playoff game against Welsh club All Saints. Anderlecht won the two-game series, 6-1, with Kljestan scoring in the first leg.
Anderlecht will now go into the UEFA Champions League playoff draw, which will be held on Friday.
Here is Kljestan's assist (first goal):
—–
CREW STILL WORKING ON MENDOZA DEAL
Peruvian striker Andres Mendoza was reportedly set to sign with the Columbus Crew, but the Columbus Dispatch is reporting that a deal has yet to be finalized.
CHIVAS GUADALAJARA REACHES LIBERTADORES FINAL
A year after Mexican teams withdrew from Copa Libertadores amid swine flu scares, a Mexican team will be playing in the Copa Libertadores final.
Chivas Guadalajara scored a 2-0 victory against Universidad de Chile on Tuesday night to win its semifinal series and book a place in the two-leg final, which begins next week. Chivas will face either Internacional or Sao Paulo in the final. Internacional leads that series 1-0, with the second leg to be played on Thursday.
—————-
What do you think of last night's CONCACAF Champions League performances by Toronto and Seattle? Impressed with Kljestan's fast start with Anderlecht? Think Mendoza could be the piece to the puzzle that helps Columbus win another title?
Share your thoughts below.
Romelu Lukaku , scary scary scary good
Anderlecht is a classic European club with great fans. Lots of history there and a great place for him to be.
He was probably bored out of his mind in MLS passing to the likes of Bornstein week in and week out.
Does his success mean 4 more years of him getting call ups to the NT. Makes me want to puke
Yes, Columbus and RSL were seeded.
No its just a Welsh league team, that is typical.
I thought DeMerit had moved to Bristol. Was that just a rumor?
Ugh, “where he will be playing”.
I’m not worried about him, just wondering will he will be playing this season.
Thanks for the reply, Ives.
Happy to see our MLS representatives progress. We need to pry this Champions League from the Mexicans.
Were the Welsh drunk? That’s some of the worst defending I’ve ever seen. Props to Sacha still, they’ve looked good in their last three games (10 goals for, 1 against).
I agree. He’s doing well there, and it looks like Anderlecht is a great place to play too.
As a Sounder Supporter I pray that DMB signs w/ The Timbers–I REALLY want to boo him.
If he is an Up and coming American he’d have to leave Chivas de Guadalajara, as the club has made it well known that they will only carry players who are Available to play for the Mexican National Team. If he were to even attend a US Camp (youth or otherwise) they would cut him.
Yeah, the no-away goals in extra time is something UEFA should adapt.
Miguel Ãngel Ponce — born in Sacramento. 21 years old, broke into the first team last spring. No idea what is story is though.
For some reason the reply one doesn’t want to work. Ryan Guy plays in the top league in Ireland. His club team made it to the Europa league last season. He is a right winger and should move to England next season when he gets his Irish passport. Tranmere had a deal in place but it fell through because of a work permit, getting his Irish passport will change that.
an assist and two goals in three games or them actually is a pretty big deal, no matter who the opposition
Big deal. He provided an assist. And the other 89 minutes? Reporters, care to report?
(SBI-You want a full report on a Champions League play-in game between a Belgian team and Welsh team? Good luck with that.)
Concacaf CL has the away goal rule, but if the series goes to extra time in the second leg the away goal does not count double during those 30 minutes. I think this is fair and brilliant.
That is what happened with Puerto Rico and Cruz Azul in 2009. PR scored a goal in extra time in Mexico but Cruz Azul tied it to send it to PK’s. In other tournaments PR would have advanced because of the away goal rule.
Yes. RSL and Toronto are actually in the same group.
All I know is they are a lower division. He would need to make a move to the scottish league or something. It sounds like he is good but how tested and against what level of talent is the question.
Unrelated to this article, but what is the story of Ryan Guy? Yanks Abroad always has articles on him, and he was just named to the Irish League Best 11 to face Manchester United. Does any reader follow the Irish league? Is Guy a potential USMNT prospect?
Is it true that Chivas de Guadalajara starting Left-back is an up and coming American?
How can we get him for USA?, i guess hope he gets sold to Europe before Mexico calls.
Why you deleting my posts, there’s nothing wrong with them
(SBI-Spencer, they’re not related to anything in this post, and we don’t generally allow random spouting of unverified reports. I did address the particular item you were discussing in another comment, so I did address it.)
Holy crap, that guy Lukaku is only 17? I can’t believe I haven’t heard more about him, he looks nasty.
Such a shame that when Benny and Freddy Adu got in the pre-olympic fight it wasn’t Adu that was banished from the team. Benny could have used the time in the transfer window.
Don’t worry about Jozy, Turkey is a secular muslim country and Americans should feel safe in the cities there. Perhaps traveling to the far east of Turkey would be a bad idea, but the cities are very modern.
Concacaf didn’t use away goals last year… or the year before, whenever Puerto Rico got to the semis and should have advanced on away goals but had to play the overtime on the road. Did they change that?
Great to see Kljestan doing well. Regardless of how weak All Saints is, performances like this will help him earn a place in the Anderlecht lineup for regular season matches and Champions League.
Or if you’re a non-Seattle MLS is probably means a loss of revenue to open up your stadium to draw 3,000 fans and pay for a road trip and the new incentives for these games according to the new collective barganing deal.
Benny made one bad decision that set him back when he went to Derby, lets hope he get at a team not as dire. He cannot waste a year in the Danish second division, though.
What happened to the announcement of the August camp?
in other words, DMB needs a club
Good for Sacha. Demerit, Benny and Freddy still need homes though. DMB too, but I feel like DMB will retire on his new jelwery collection if it takes off…
I can’t wait to see Saprissa and Monterrey at Qwest!
3 more home games in Seattle will draw 20,000+ fans for each game; I think the FO will consider that a financial incentive.
Aren’t Columbus and RSL in the group stages too? Or something like that….
Ives- Can you confirm or disconfirm the report that Jozy is going to Besiktas?
(SBI-I tweeted a week ago that Besiktas had become the favorites to land him. No announcement has been made yet or deal finalized yet as far as I know. We should hear something soon.)
If the Galaxy win 3-0, it would be 4-4 aggregate and the Islanders would advance on away goals.
ugh, Galaxy have to win 4-0 in PR. not much hope for advancing there.
(SBI-My bad, for some reason I thought CONCACAF didn’t use away goals.)
Interesting to hear Kljestan’s name pronounced ‘klee-es-tan’. Not sure how his family pronounces it, but I bet that would be the way it would be pronounced in whatever nation it originates in.
Sacha did well but they were playing a Welsh league team so I’d expect him to pick up an assist or a goal. Hopefully he transitions well into league play.
Lukaku is a beast!!!!
Easy now. I support MLS, but the league has a long way to go in terms of proving itself in international competition. That includes getting out of the CCL group stage, not just making it there. Last night was important, but hopefully it was only the beginning.
Lukaku! a new and improved version of Drogba..
agreed! go sascha!
Is there a financial incentive for making the group stage of CCL?
Also, the best part of Sacha’s move to Anderlecht is that he got a chance to integrate into the team in a few meaningful matches against a really weak opponent. Nothing like a little confidence booster and hopefully that carries into the season.
(Sincere) Congratulations to 3 teams I don’t generally like.
I realize that TNS is not a very talented team, but this is great for Sacha.
Congrats to TFC for the result. Very proud of the Rave Green boys for deaing with tough field and weather conditions and getting the result. Great night for TFC, SSFC, and the MLS in general.
So, MLS haters, please explain to the world again how these results don’t matter and the league is too stupid to watch.
Wow. Seems like Sacha made a great career move.
Win at home, draw on the road. Go through. That’s how it’s done.
Romelu Lukaku is a manchild.