Nico Sanchez scored the only goal of the game in the first leg of the final.
Monterrey flipped home-field advantage by pulling off a massive victory over Tigres, grabbing a 1-0 result in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League final at the Estadio Universitario. Here are three takeaways from the first 90 minutes of the championship decider:
Monterrey’s dominant first-half yields lead
Both managers agreed in their postmatch press conferences that Monterrey was superior in the game’s first 45 minutes. “We can’t cede 45 minutes like we did today,” Tigres boss Ricardo…
Carlos Vela netted his first hat trick with LAFC, in a blowout victory against the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium.
Real Salt Lake was forced to play with 10 men for the third straight game and couldn’t overcome it, as FC Dallas secured three points at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Marco Fabian and David Accam scored to give the Philadelphia Union their second straight win and end Cincinnati’s two-game winning run.
A return to a full league calendar following the international break yielded amazing performances from some of MLS’ best and brightest Latin American stars. As always, we have singled out a few players who stood out over the weekend for their positive contributions, as well as one who made headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Here are the Latinos who caught our eye most in Week 5 of MLS:
Latino of the week
Carlos Vela, FW, LAFC
In LAFC’s annihilation of San Jose on Saturday, the Mexican international…
Ryan Hollingshead scored inside the final 10 minutes to earn FC Dallas a 2-1 win after Colorado equalized on a goal awarded after a VAR review.
The international break reduced activity around MLS to a handful of games. Regardless, there were plenty of viable candidates who emerged throughout the league as the Latino of the Week. Here are the players who stood out the most this past weekend:
Latino of the Week: Michael Barrios, MF, FC Dallas
The Colombian-born playmaker was key in his team’s victory on Saturday, scoring the opening goal and popping up all over the final third. Barrios started the match on the right flank in support…
Check out all the goals from this weekend’s MLS action, including Wayne Rooney’s hat-trick for D.C. United.
Ignacio Piatti continued his hot form against Orlando City with a brace in the Montreal Impact’s 1-3 win at Orlando City Stadium.
Even at 34, Ignacio Piatti remains one of the best Latin players in MLS. The Argentine now has 71 goals for Montreal since arriving from San Lorenzo in 2014.
Once more, Latino players across MLS provided highlights and spectacular performances to lead their teams to positive results. Starting this season, we’ve created an award to recognize the best – and worst – from players born in or with roots in Latin America.
Here are the Latinos who caught our eye the most in Week 3 of MLS:
Latino of the Week: Ignacio Piatti, FW, Montreal Impact
The Argentine was instrumental in Montreal’s bounce-back win in Week 3 against Orlando City. Piatti scored twice and…
To start the 2019 MLS season, there are 144 players born in Latin American countries who will take the field across the 24 clubs. Many more were born elsewhere but carry roots from the region. To fully gauge how Latinos impact the league, we’ve created a weekly award to pick a standout, a couple of honorable mentions and on the other end of the spectrum, even a dud of the week.
Here are the most noteworthy performances from Latinos in MLS for Week 1.
Latino of the Week: Darwin Quintero, FW, Minnesota…
Club America has 12 league titles, a record equaled only by Chivas. The Mexico City side seeks to make it a lucky 13 against Cruz Azul.
With Club America set take on Cruz Azul in the final of the 2018 Liga MX Apertura, Eric Gomez breaks down Las Aguilas.
MEXICO CITY — Only a few weeks ago, the thought of Club America making the final (and in such a convincing fashion) was somewhat of a pipe dream. Despite the overall solidity of their regular campaign, fans were unimpressed by the team’s lack of a killer forward, its general inability to beat top teams and Miguel Herrera’s tendency to drop back after grabbing a lead.
However, the…
Club America defeated Toluca 5-4 on aggregate to book a semifinal showdown against city rivals Pumas.
MEXICO CITY – With the Liga MX quarterfinals done and dusted, here are three things to watch out for when the semis kick off this week:
1. Clasico Capitalino dominates headlines
The lead-up to this week’s semifinals will no doubt revolve around the Clasico Capitalino derby featuring Club America and Pumas. After a memorable regular season draw that saw Club America come back from a deficit despite playing with two men down, the two clubs will once again lock horns — this time with the campaign…
Cruz Azul’s Edgar Mendez celebrates after scoring the second goal their quarterfinal first leg against Queretaro.
MEXICO CITY — Three points on the Liguilla openers in Queretaro and Monterrey:
1. Cruz Azul impresses early; shows no playoff jitters
When Pablo Aguilar slammed in the game’s first goal after 16 minutes at the Estadio Corregidora, no Mexican soccer observer would be surprised if a collective sigh came out of the mouths of Cruz Azul fans everywhere. The Paraguay international put his team on course for what ended up being a comfortable away victory that sets the number one seed up for a smooth road…
MEXICO CITY — The somewhat anticlimactic final weekend of the Liga MX regular season ended with Sunday’s games nothing more than a mere formality. Only Pumas vs. Santos offered the chance to decide which of the two teams would finish above each other in the league table. Even Toluca’s unexpected loss to Lobos BUAP proved a non-starter as their place in the playoff seeding had been decided.
Despite this past slate of games offering little to no drama, there is almost a guarantee of it as soon as…
MEXICO CITY – The international dates will add a layer of intrigue to Mexico’s regular season finale, as Week 17 will be pushed back to accommodate the plethora of national teams that will take the field in the coming days. Most of the playoff field has been set, but there is still the chance we’ll see some surprises towards the very end of the Apertura 2018.
– Latest Liga MX standings | Schedule | Latest Playoff Picture
1. CRUZ AZUL
Record: 10W-3D-3L
Week 15 ranking: 1
There…