Four MLS teams entered the Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals this week, but only two remain after Tuesday.
The New York Red Bulls and Houston Dynamo waved goodbye to the Concacaf Champions League on Tuesday night, as both of their tournament campaigns came to an end at the hands of Liga MX opposition.
The Red Bulls suffered the more painful loss in Mexico, falling, 4-2, in the second leg of their series vs. Santos Laguna despite jumping out to a 2-0 lead through the first nine minutes. The Dynamo, meanwhile, were handed a narrow 1-0 defeat by Tigres via a second-half Carlos Salcedo strike.
The results saw the Red Bulls lose 6-2 on aggregate while the Dynamo were beaten, 3-0. That leaves Atlanta United and Sporting Kansas City as the two remaining MLS teams in the competition, though both those sides trail in their respective series.
The Red Bulls endured quite the topsy-turvy performance. They came out of the gates flying and took a 2-0 lead after just nine minutes through goals from Omir Fernandez and Daniel Royer to erase their deficit on aggregate. The MLS side could not maintain its stranglehold on the match, however, and Santos wound up pouring on the pressure before scoring four times in a nine-minute spell of its own to win convincingly.
The final goal in the 81st minute was of the sensational variety, as Brian Lozano beat Luis Robles with a rocket that was kicked from inside Santos’ half.
The Dynamo fared better defensively in their match, but were outdone by a Salcedo strike from close range in the 68th minute after he pounced on a bouncing ball in the penalty area. Adding insult to injury for the MLS outfit was that defenders DaMarcus Beasley and Maynor Figueroa both had to leave the game before they were expected to. Figueroa suffered a knock in the second half while Beasley’s early substitution in the opening stanza was reported as being done for tactical reasons.
Up next are Atlanta United and Sporting KC. Atlanta United plays host to Monterrey on Wednesday, trailing 3-0 on aggregate. Sporting KC, meanwhile, will welcome Panamanian side Independiente on Thursday needing to turn around a 2-1 first-leg deficit.
oops, 5 I meant.
+1 rob and bizzy
my two cents: the watched pot boils slowly. i actually like that mls clubs are still not winning in ccl. it means that mls clubs have to try harder, improve more. imho it’s a good thing for everyone in concacaf.
really, if it was 3 or 4 in the semis MLS teams might wonder if this is all there is.
I actually agree w this take, as much as I hate watching the annual disappointment. An MLS team winning at this point might give a phony sense of “mission accomplished”, when the reality is that there is still much to do in raising the standard.
Not one MLS team could make it passed a Mexican team, NOT ONE…….and it’s funny how all the American players playing in Liga MX are not given the proper respect of playing in a league that proves year after year that it is better and superior to MLS. Yet Michael Bradley (who will hand over the “free-pass” touch to Wil Trapp) that has no athletic ability or real talent, can be called in to jog around each and every game.
I think KC still has a shot at it tonight, they are at home, down only 1 and have an away goal. But agree in general with the frustration of the top Mexican teams consistently beating the top MLS teams. Atlanta is the most disappointing for me because I thought last year’s team might have been the best MLS team yet.
Toluca
Jeremy, toluca is having a terrible season. They are in 13th place in the LigaMx table have won 3 games and lost 5. That’s not a team that you can use a good example of progress.
Fair enough about the lack of progress (it wont let me reply to your comment for some reason), i was just correcting the post saying emphatically not one MLS team beat a Mexican team. Personally, I am disappointed in this year’s edition. I felt all four had decent shouts to make a run.
oops 5 I meant
Mexican teams still only need ten minutes of actual effort to take care of these games.
MLs is getting less hard to watch because of the better players but not really closing the gap. The Mexican league is getting better at a faster pace.
If they want it Tigres can walk to the championship trophy.