MIAMI, Florida – The semifinals of the 2023 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League kick off this Tuesday with a scintillating affair between two Liga MX sides, as Tigres welcome in Club Leon to the Estadio Universitario in San Nicolas de los Garza, Mexico.
It marks the first-ever SCCL battle between these two domestic rivals, but Tuesday’s game will be their 39th encounter, with all previous matches coming in Liga MX competition.
Overall, Tigres lead the series with a 16W-12D-10L mark, with 53 goals scored and 40 conceded. Their last meeting came in September 2022 when Club Leon emerged with a 1-0 win away at Tigres. Four of their last nine meetings have resulted in draws, and in home games against Club Leon, Tigres have amassed an excellent 12W-6D-2L record.
Ironically, the two clubs will also square off in Liga MX action in the matchday between the two semifinal legs.
When it comes to the semifinal round, Tigres know how to get the job done. In their four previous semifinal appearances, the Felinos have won each series to advance to the Final.
Many of the players who helped Tigres win their lone SCCL title in 2020 will once again play a big role in this series, including winger Luis Quinones and veteran FW Andre-Pierre Gignac.
Quinones had two goals and three assists in the previous round against Motagua of Honduras to give him nine career SCCL assists. Meanwhile, Gignac is as dangerous as always after another two goals against Motagua, giving him 16 career SCCL goals, lifting him into the top five on the all-time scoring table.
While Tigres are well-acquainted with the SCCL semifinals, Club Leon are participating in their first semifinal in the Champions League era.
La Fiera are usually a good bet to find the back of the net in Concacaf play, having scored in 14 of their last 16 SCCL matches.
Elias Hernandez has two goals and two assists thus far in the tournament, and also has six career goals in 33 games against Tigres.
Another player in form that will be one to watch is attacker Brian Rubio, who scored in the Round of 16 against Panamanian club Tauro, followed by another goal in the quarterfinals against Violette of Haiti.
Game Notes Tigres vs Club Leon
Match Officials Tigres UANL vs Club Leon
Referee: Armando Villarreal (USA)
AR1: Cory Richardson (USA) AR2 Logan Brown (USA)
4th Official: Rubiel Vazquez (USA)
VAR: Tim Ford (USA)
AVAR1: Chris Penso (USA)
