MIAMI, Florida – Honduran side Motagua will be hoping to take down another past champion when they host Liga MX side Tigres in the first leg of the 2023 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday night at the Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
Motagua eliminated five-time Concacaf champions Pachuca in the Round of 16, with the away goal serving as the tiebreaker in a 1-1 aggregate final with the Tuzos.
Now, Motagua will take aim at 2020 SCCL winners Tigres and will be out for a good result at home. Keeping a clean sheet at home will be imperative, just like it was against Pachuca and either Jonathan Rougier or Marlon Licona will be expected to have a big performance in goal.
Eddie Hernandez was the hero against Pachuca when he calmly converted a late penalty to win the series for Motagua. He also led the team in shots in the series with five and will be counted on to be a threat up top against Tigres.
Helping the cause will likely be Carlos Melendez and Juan Delgado. Melendez had 10 ball recoveries and eight clearances against Pachuca, while Delgado completed 90 percent of his passes in the series.
Motagua will have to be at their best defensively because Tigres boast plenty of attacking threats, highlighted by veteran striker Andre-Pierre Gignac, who has 14 career goals in the SCCL.
Gignac is joined by Luis Quinones and Nicolas Ibanez, two players capable of either scoring or playmaking at any moment. Quinones is Tigres’ all-time leader in assists with four, while Ibanez has 65 goals in 126 career games in Liga MX.
Sebastian Cordova is another player who has a knack for scoring in Concacaf matches and tallied Tigres’ decisive goal in their Round of 16 series win against Orlando City in another series decided by the tiebreaking away goal in a 1-1 aggregate final.
SCCL Stats FC Motagua and Tigres UANL
Match Officials:
Armando Villarreal (USA)
AR1 Cory Richardson (USA) AR2 Logan Brown
4th Official: Rubiel Vazquez (USA)
VAR: Allen Chapman (USA) AVAR1 Tim Ford (USA)
