MIAMI, Florida – The 2023 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League returns to action this week with the first leg matches of the quarterfinals in which three teams from Major League Soccer (MLS) and three teams from Liga MX will participate.
The Vancouver Whitecaps were the big winners among the MLS teams over the weekend with an emphatic 5-0 home win over CF Montreal. The first four goals came over an 11-minute period at the end of the first half and beginning of the second half to send the Whitecaps on their way.
A red card to Montreal’s Rudy Camacho in the 23’ gave the Whitecaps the man advantage, and they made the most of it, starting in the 38’ through Brian White on a smooth right-footed stroke. Simon Becher made it 2-0 in the 43’ when he steered home a shot off a pass from the left.
Julian Gressel tacked on a third right before halftime when he turned in a blocked shot. It quickly became 4-0 in the 48’ courtesy of Ali Ahmed, who pounced on a loose ball to score. Becher then scored the fifth and final goal in the 59’ with a smart redirection into net to complete the 5-0 scoreline.
Simon Becher becomes the fastest player in league history to score his first four @MLS goals, doing so in just 87 minutes of game action.#VWFC | @simon_becher101 pic.twitter.com/yDRqeFZAGT
— Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) April 2, 2023
The other two remaining participants from MLS still alive in the SCCL, Los Angeles FC and the Philadelphia Union, each registered a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw in their respective matches.
LAFC earned their point on the road against the Colorado Rapids, giving them three clean sheets on the young MLS season, while the Union collected their point at home against Sporting Kansas City for their second clean sheet of the season in league play.
There was no shortage of goals for the three Liga MX sides, beginning with Atlas in a 3-3 draw with city rivals Chivas.
Two goals from Chivas in the first 31 minutes had Atlas in a 2-0 hole, but soon enough Julian Quinones led the comeback, making it 2-1 in the 33’ when a shot blocked by Chivas GK Miguel Jimenez fell right to Quinones’ feet and he fired into net.
Ozziel Herrera then equalized for the hosts, 2-2, right before halftime with a perfectly placed header off a corner kick.
Chivas regained the lead in the 55’, but right back came Atlas courtesy of Quinones, who struck for his second in the 57’ when Jimenez could not hold onto Julio Furch’s shot and Quinones was there to push the ball in to compete the 3-3 scoreline.
Atlas are 12th in the table with a 2W-7D-4L record.
Club Leon also had a thrilling encounter in playing to a 2-2 draw at Club America.
Alfonso Alvarado struck right before halftime to give Club Leon a 1-0 lead at the break with a powerful header off a cross from the right.
But Club America would respond with a pair of goals in the second half, leaving Club Leon staring at a 2-1 deficit heading into second half stoppage time. Minutes before the final whistle, though, Joel Campbell found the back of the net in the 90+4’ with an excellent finish to salvage a point for the visitors.
Club Leon are third in the Liga MX table with a 7W-4D-2L record.
Tigres were also in action over the weekend but narrowly fell away to Toluca, 3-2.
A red card to Luis Quinones in the 29’ and three goals to Toluca put Tigres in a massive 3-0 hole going into the final quarter hour.
However, the Felinos showed great character in trying to mount a comeback and cut the gap to 3-1 in the 76’ through Andre-Pierre Gignac, who redirected into net off a cross from the left.
Tigres’ belief grew even more in the 90’ on a Nicolas Lopez penalty conversion after a Toluca handball in the area. In the end though, Tigres were unable to find the equalizer, leaving them seventh in the table with a 6W-3D-4L mark.
