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León-LAFC take center stage after Tigres great escape

By Thomas Buckley

Tigres goalie Nahuel Guzmán (left) grins at teammate Edu Vargas after the keeper scored the series-clinching goal on a pass from the latter with only seconds remaining on the clock. (Photo by JULIO CESAR AGUILAR/AFP via Getty Images)
Tigres goalie Nahuel Guzmán (left) grins at teammate Edu Vargas after the keeper scored the series-clinching goal on a pass from the latter with only seconds remaining on the clock. (Photo by JULIO CESAR AGUILAR/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Mexico’s Carlos Vela and LAFC must overcome a 2-0 deficit when León visits; Tigres avoid face-planting in Concacaf tournament.

The León-LAFC series was projected to be the most exciting of the Concacaf Champions League round of 16. Nobody, absolutely nobody predicted the Tigres-Alianza match-up would be such a heart-stopper.

León is in Los Angeles to take on MLS giant LAFC and the Esmeraldas will be protecting a 2-0 lead from the first leg in Mexico. But coach Ignacio Ambriz is taking nothing for granted, telling reporters Wednesday that he expects to see the best of The Black-and-Gold.

LAFC – led by captain Carlos Vela – set league scoring and points records last season, but the Mexican striker was held in check last week. It must be pointed out that the MLS season does not begin until the upcoming weekend, so the Concacaf Champions League is serving as a glorified preseason.

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The Black-and-Gold are also new to international competition as they only have two MLS season under their belt. Thursday night’s game at the Banc of California Stadium will be the first-ever international home match for LAFC. Expect the club’s rowdy fans to be in full voice.

León, on the other hand, has already played 7 games (5-0-2 record, good for second place) and leads the Liga MX with 16 goals. Jean Meneses and Angel Mena scored for La Fiera in last week’s first-leg match, but León will not sit on their lead. A goal in Los Angeles forces LAFC to score 4 times to advance due to the away-goals rule.

Tigres win it at the death

On Wednesday night, the powerful Tigres barely avoided a huge disaster when goalie Nahuel Guzmán scored with a header off a free kick in minute 90+4 to slip past Salvadoran minnows Alianza.

After losing 2-1 in El Salvador last week, the Tigres roared out of the starting gate and took a 3-0 lead by minute 23. The rout was on, right? And a spot in the quarterfinals guaranteed.

Not so fast. Juan Carlos Portillo scored twice before halftime as “Chaka” Rodríguez and the Tigres fell asleep on defense. The 3-2 scoreline (4-4 aggregate) would have seen Alianza advance on the away-goals rule.

The Tigres frantically attacked the entire second half, firing 27 shots but getting only 8 on goal. The unimaginable upset was within reach when Enner Valencia was fouled outside the top left corner of the box. Goalie Guzmán raced forward to take part and Edu Vargas’ free kick was right on the money. Guzmán powered it home and the Tigres were saved from what would have been one of the most embarrassing chapters in Mexican soccer history.

The Tigres now advance to face NYCFC in the quarterfinals.

Next. Cruz Azul eases into quarterfinals. dark

At Estadio Azteca on Wednesday night, América survived a game challenge from Guatemala’s Comunicaciones to advance to a quarterfinals date with Atlanta United.

The visitors scored in minute 62 after being granted a dubious penalty kick, but went down to 10 men 6 minutes later when Allen Yanes was shown a red card after a brutal tackle on Sebastián Córdova.

The Aguilas knotted the score in minute 80 from the penalty spot and the game ended with a 2-2 aggregate scoreline. América won the series in a shoot-out with goalie Oscar Jiménez saving Comunicaciones’ fourth shot and Córdova converting the winner.

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