MIAMI, Florida – With the new year under way, thoughts in the Concacaf region have turned to the first tournaments of the calendar year, including the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup scheduled to kick off on February 6.
It marks the dawn of a new era in Concacaf, with an expanded 27-team format, however there is still plenty of familiarity, including in some of the pairings in Round One. One of those is the match-up between the Philadelphia Union and Costa Rican giants Deportivo Saprissa.
These two sides met up in the 2021 edition of the tournament, which ultimately ended in a 5-0 aggregate victory for Philadelphia, however it was a two-legged series that proved to be much closer than what the final scoreline indicated.
It was a Round of 16 affair between the Union and Saprissa, with the first leg played at the legendary Estadio Saprissa in Costa Rica. Saprissa entered as a Champions Cup stalwart, with three titles under their belts, while it was the first ever Champions Cup match for the Union.
Philadelphia showed no nerves, however, in their Concacaf debut and struck for a goal in the 34th minute on a powerful header from Kacper Przybylko off a cross from the right wing by Olivier Mbaizo.
True to their spirited nature, though, Saprissa mounted a comeback effort but were turned away by Philadelphia’s excellent GK Andre Blake, who finished the night with a clean sheet and two saves.
The 1-0 victory in the first leg for Philadelphia marked just the second win for a team from Major League Soccer (MLS) away at Saprissa in Champions Cup history (Columbus Crew 2009-10).
The return leg in Philadelphia was just as intense through the first 45 minutes of play. The Union almost struck early in the sixth minute when Jakob Glesnes launched a right-footed shot rocketed off the post.
Blake and the Union defense once again were able to keep the dangerous Saprissa attack under wraps, allowing Philadelphia to break things open in the second half with four goals for a 4-0 win in the home second leg and 5-0 on aggregate.
Jamiro Monteiro scored a pair of goals to lead the way, while Przybylko notched his second of the series on his way to ultimately winning the 2021 Champions Cup Top Scorer Award with five goals.
Now, three years later, these two teams will square off again in the Champions Cup in an exciting Round One date, with the winner advancing to the Round of 16 to play five-time Concacaf champions Pachuca of Mexico.
