MIAMI, Florida – The second leg matches of the Round of 16 of the 2021 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League kicked off on Tuesday with plenty of fireworks.
Here are five takeaways from Tuesday night’s action.
Hats off to Chara
Playing in his first SCCL series, Portland Timbers FW Yimmi Chara seems to be right at home. The Colombian, who is the brother of long-time Timbers MF Diego Chara, scored a hat trick in Portland’s 5-0 defeat of CD Marathon of Honduras. It was the first time that a Timbers player scored a hat trick in Concacaf competition and provides a very big confident boost for the MLS side going into the quarterfinals.
Good sign from the Atlanta United defense
Atlanta United are through to the SCCL quarterfinals for the third year in a row and there is a good reason to believe that this year the Georgia side can go even further. Unlike their 2019 and 2020 SCCL campaigns in the Round of 16 in which they conceded goals to Central American opponents Herediano of Costa Rica and Motagua of Honduras, Atlanta United managed to keep 2020 Scotiabank Concacaf League champions Liga Deportiva Alajuelense of Costa Rica off the scoresheet for 180 minutes. With that type of defensive performance, Atlanta United will like their chances of making a deep run.
Timbers make club history
As the old saying goes, the third time was a charm for the Portland Timbers, who advanced past a round in the SCCL for the first time in three appearances. The prior two saw Portland come up just shy of advancing from the group stage in the 2014-15 and 2016-17 editions, but in 2021 they have gotten the job done and now join regional rivals Seattle Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps as Cascadian teams that have won an SCCL knockout round series.
Damm’s uncanny SCCL scoring knack
Atlanta United winger Jurgen Damm is not normally known as a player who scores a lot of goals, but there is something about the SCCL that seems to bring out the Mexican’s scoring touch. With his goals in Atlanta United 1-0 win over Alajuelense, Damm now has five career SCCL goals and has scored a goal in the SCCL with three different teams. The 28-year-old scored for Pachuca in the 2014-15 group stage, followed by goals for Tigres UANL in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 quarterfinals before Tuesday’s score.
Gimenez’s unique feat
Cruz Azul reached their second straight SCCL quarterfinal with an impressive performance in an 8-0 win over Arcahaie of Haiti. While the number of goals scored by the Mexican side will grab most of the attention, the performance of Santiago Gimenez was also noteworthy. The son of former SCCL champion Christian Gimenez achieved the unique feat of earning a hat trick of assists in Tuesday night’s contest. Gimenez played provider on three straight Cruz Azul goals, with a pair of scores for Walter Montoya sandwiching a Josue Reyes goals, evoking memories of the same kind of unselfish play that embodied his father.
