Liga MX went 2 for 2 Tuesday night as Santos and the Tigres quashed MLS opposition to move into the Concacaf Champions League semifinals.
With the prospect of a penalty shootout looming, Santos exploded for 4 goals in 9 minutes to dispatch the New York Red Bulls and advance to their fifth Concacaf Champions League semifinals appearance.
The outburst came with Santos losing 2-0 at home, a result that would have forced a shoot-out to determine the winner of their quarterfinal match-up.
In Monterrey, the Tigres suffocated the Houston Dynamo, never letting their MLS rival get comfortable, and saw out a 3-0 aggregate win to reach their third CCL semifinal where they will face Santos.
Santos 4, New York Red Bulls 2
The visiting Red Bulls silenced the Estadio Corona crowd with 2 goals in the game’s first 9 minutes, evening the aggregate score. Santos was stunned and goalie Jonathan Orozco kept it from getting worse a few minutes later, stopping a Bradley Wright-Phillips shot from close range.
Santos finally got back on their feet at about the 20 minutes mark and began stringing passes together and moving into the attacking third with options, but could not get open looks at goal. Both teams began to show frustration at referee John Pitti who allowed physical play, but often was fooled into blowing his whistle by flops. The teams went into their locker rooms at halftime with Santos controlling tempo and possession. A goal seemed inevitable.
As the clock ticked away in the second half, penalty kicks seemed more and more likely. Despite dominating the ball, Santos could not solve the plucky Red Bulls defense. Then, in minute 70, Santos coach Salvador Reyes inserted Deinner Quiñones into the line-up and magic happened.
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His shot was blocked but the ball bounced right back to him and he smoothly slid a pass wide right where José Abella was advancing into the box. Abella let fly with a rising blast that rippled the net inside the far post and a roar erupted from the crowd.
Four minutes later, Quiñones made a run through the middle, filtered a pass wide left to Jesús Angulo who one-timed a diagonal pass through a defender right into the path of Brian Lozano who knocked it home from in close just as New York goalie Jose Robles arrived.
Three minutes later, Quiñones again found Angulo who made a quick return pass to the shifty midfielder, but Quiñones was denied by Robles. Quiñones collected the rebound left of goal and surveyed the field before chipping back toward the onrushing Diego Valdes who chest-trapped and side-footed a shot into the far post. It was now 5-2 on aggregate with only 11 minutes remaining and the Santos fans were screaming in ecstasy.
Just two minutes later, Lozano grabbed a loose ball on the Santos side of the field and saw Robles was off his line. The winger quickly let fly with a laser from 60 meters that actually hit the back of the net before it hit the ground. An amazing shot by the Man of the Match.
In addition to his two goals, Lozano was constantly wreaking havoc on the wings while also tracking back to help out on defense. Julio Furch also played a big role in the 4-2 win and he played a part in each of the first three goals for Santos.
Santos is now 10-2-5 against MLS opposition and remains in the hunt for its first CCL title. The Guerreros have reached two Concacaf Champions League finals (in 2012 and 2013), losing to Monterrey both times.
Tigres 1, Houston Dynamo 0
The Tigres put on an outstanding display of how to control a soccer match. The Liga MX powerhouse dominated possession (65%), circulated the ball effectively, pushed the ball down the wings on offense and took enough shots to keep Dynamo goalie Joe Willis on his toes.
On defense, the Tigres showed positional discipline, pressed the ball and cut off passing angles.
It was classic Ferretti-ball with only an occasional mis-step (like when Carioca attempted a back pass to goalie Nahuel Guzmán that was intercepted by Tommy McNamara but Guzmán snuffed the weak shot).
The Tigres finally wore down the Dynamo defense and began to create better scoring chances. In minute 68, a Tigres corner kick was cleared only to be recovered by the home team and quickly sent wide to Javier Aquino who re-centered. Dynamo defender Aljaz Struna blocked the cross right into the path of Carlos Salcedo who was all alone about 6 meters in front of goal. The defender blasted it home, pushing the score to 3-0 on aggregate.
The Dynamo were never able to mount a real challenge and the Tigres move on to their 3rd CCL semifinal in the past four seasons. The Tigres have advanced to the Final in each of their two prior semifinals but have yet to win the title.