Daniel Arreola (right) and Pachuca will look to bounce back from a loss to Club America in Liga MX play, when they host Municipal in the CONCACAF Champions League on September 24, 2014. (Photo: Mexsport)
PACHUCA, Mexico – With Saturday’s Mexican Apertura loss to Club America in the rearview mirror, Pachuca is focused on its CONCACAF Champions League (CCL) encounter with Municipal.
A draw against the visiting Guatemalan power on Wednesday will clinch the top spot in Group 1 -- with a game to spare -- and a quarterfinal berth.
“We were going with a mindset to get the result (against Club America), but now we have to flip the page,” Pachuca defender Daniel Arreola told reporters. “We have an important game on Wednesday in the Champions League and we are very focused.”
Pachuca (2-0-0, 6 points), which has maximum points from two matches, beat Municipal (1-1-1, 4 points), 7-3, at the Estadio Mateo Flores on August 27 with Dario Carreño netting a hat-trick and Ariel Nahuelpan adding a brace.
Municipal kept its hopes of advancing alive by eliminating Real España (0-1-2, 1 point) with a 3-0 win on September 17 thanks to a three-goal performance from Marvin Avila.
For his part, Arreola is trying to put behind him an own-goal that gave put Club America a first-half lead.
“It is an error to which we are all exposed,” the 28-year-old commented. “I intended to get the ball, now it was my turn. It had never happened to me before. It was the first time. I saw it, analyzed it. It was very complicated, but I’m keeping my head up.”
It was part of a disappointing first half, which saw Pachuca trailing 1-0 at the Estadio Azteca.
“We stopped doing things,” Arreola finished. “The first half went very cold and in the second I think we changed. We began to assert ourselves, but not enough. There must be an analysis. We have to continue working to find the consistency we seek.”
Pachuca is 8-0-0 all-time at home in the CCL.
