We had interesting results in the second leg of the Round of 16 in the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup. But when it came to those matchups between Major League Soccer and Liga MX, it showed again who was the better side in those contests. Without a doubt, those mighty clubs come from the southern border of the United States, and MLS needs to go back to the drawing board.
So it's time to recap all the games involving these teams from the USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Suriname as we wrap up our coverage during the Round of 16 of the Champions Cup. So here we go.
The first of two matchups involving MLS facing each other as the Columbus Crew went home to lower.com field and took on the Houston Dynamo with their one-goal aggregate advantage. The Dynamo had a great start to the first half; they looked like they could've nicked an away goal themselves, but Cucho Hernandez converted in the 40th minute to make it 2-0 on aggregate.
The Crew looked like they were hanging on by a thread, and they might have survived it with a clean sheet till a penalty called for a handball. Griffin Dorsey took the spot kick after VAR looked at it and converted the away goal. But with four minutes added on and the possibility of more due to the VAR look, the referee blew his whistle at four minutes, and Ben Olson was not happy it ended that way.
The next match was the unthinkable. It was unbelievable to see how quickly the Philadelphia Union crumbled up like a ball of paper as they fell apart and got destroyed by Pachuca six goals to nil. VAR reviewed and said the penalty when Kai Wagner stepped on a Pachuca attacker; then it was the Salomon Rondon show. He Converted the penalty in the 7th minute and then two more for the natural hat trick in first-half stoppage time and the 53rd minute.
After that, three more goals came from Nelson Deossa Suarez, Oussama Idrissi, and Alan Bautista to end the match. Head Coach Jim Curtin showed a look of disgust on his face, but in the post-match press conference, he was humble and gave Pachuca all the respect they deserved. Right now, Pachuca is the current class of Liga MX, and it showed. They will be a handful during the Champions Cup.
Orlando City traveled down to Monterrey to take on UNAL Tigres, and it looked like the home side would take it early. They scored two quick goals as Marcelo Flores and Andre-Pierre Gignac buried their chances seven minutes apart until a scare came in the 24th minute by Facundo Torres converting a penalty. One more away goal and Orlando City would take it on away goals, but it never happened.
Tigres found a way to take the series as Fernando Gorriaran smashed his shot off the bottom of the crossbar and just completely over the goal line in the 68th minute, then a fourth by Sebastian Cordova in the 81st. While Orlando City did convert a second goal in second-half stoppage time by Martin Ojeda, but it wasn't enough, they went out.
Heredianoreally didn't have to do much. Just one away goal would be enough to end the series. Adrian Garza got that third goal on aggregate, and they moved on to the Quarterfinals. But I'm happy for SV Robinhood of Suriname as they got their first goal in the Champions Cup. They earned a draw as Don Tuur converted in second-half stoppage time to feel good for themselves as they didn't suffer their second clean sheet.
Inter Miami hosted their second leg against Nashville SC, and this one ended before it began. Luis Suarez slotted one home in the 8th minute; Lionel Messi scored his second goal in the Champions Cup in the 23rd minute. In the second half, Robin Taylor smacked one home in the 63rd, and Nashville had nothing the rest of the way. They did pull one back, but only in second-half stoppage time to say goodnight.
Chivas of Guadalajara put a huge scare into Club America at the Estadio Azteca after going down three goals to nil at the Estadio Akron. Two big away goals from Cade Cowell and Ricardo Martin put America on their heels till the halftime whistle. Many thought the series would be leveled at three. But Club America got some help from Chivas when AlanMozo put the ball into his net.
Alejandro Zendejas scored the fifth goal on aggregate to widen the lead, but a quick response from Roberto Alvarado leveled the away goals and cut the deficit by two. Still not enough from the goats as they got eliminated by their fiercest rivals in all of Liga MX.
With the coaching change by LD Alajulense to bring over Alexander Guimaraes to take over the club, it looked like that was the spark they needed to get back into the series. Carlos Mora converted quickly in the 4th minute, and the scare was on. The New England Revolution did a good job defending and still attempted to attack to get that away goal. It finally happened in the 81st minute as Giacomo Vrioni finally got that goal to win the aggregate five goals to one.
FC Cincinnati heads down to Monterrey, threatening the Mexican side with chances. I thought they would break through, but Luis Romo got the second goal to make it two-nil on aggregate in the 41st minute. Luciano Acosta did convert that away goal after the restart, and it was game one, but once again, the former FC Cincinnati man Brandon Vazquez tapped home an easy cross into an empty net, as he was the one to end their run.
Tough sledding for the majority of the Major League Soccer sides, but once again, if you want to show you can win down in Liga MX grounds, you must be on your game and do much better. It's time for the Quarterfinals next month.
CONCACAF CHAMPIONS CUP ROUND OF 16 2ND LEG RESULTS
COLUMBUS CREW 1;1 HOUSTON DYNAMO (CREW WINS ON AGGREGATE 2-1)
CF PACHUCA 6:0 PHILADELPHIA UNION (PACHUCA WINS ON AGGREGATE 6-0)
UNAL TIGRES 4:2 ORLANDO CITY )TIGRES WINS ON AGGREGATE 4-2)
SV ROBINHOOD 1:1 CS HEREDIANO (HEREDIANO WINS ON AGGREGATE 3-1)
INTER MIAMI 3:1 NASHVILLE SC (MIAMI WINS ON AGGREGATE 5-3)
CLUB AMERICA 2:3 GUADALAJARA CHIVAS (CLUB AMERICA WINS ON AGGREGATE 5-3)
LD ALAJULENSE 1:1 NE REVOLUTION (rEVOLUTION WINS ON AGGREGATE 5-1)
CF MONTERREY 2:1 FC CINCINNATI (MONTERREY WINS ON AGGREGATE 3-1)
CONCACAF CHAMPIONS CUP QUARTERFINALS
CF PACHUCA (MEX) Vs. CS HEREDIANO (CRC)
CLUB AMERICA (MEX) Vs. NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION (USA)
COLUMBUS CREW (USA) Vs. UNAL TIGRES
CF MONTERREY (MEX) Vs. INTER MIAMI (USA)
The "mile and a half" high altitude of Pachucha likely was a big reason for the Union worst ever destruction
It would have been great if more MLS teams advanced. Orlando has been a big disappointment this year. After a big improvement last year they seemed likely to be contenders, instead, so far, they are a flop. The Union did not add players and hoped for more from their young players but they were not up the steamroller that is Pachuca.
A MLS team may still hopefully, reach the final.