Liga MX side Cruz Azul scored early and cruised to a 1-0 victory in Leg 1 of their Concacaf Champions League quarterfinal tie with CF Montréal at Estadio Azteca Wednesday night.
Cruz Azul broke the ice in the 20th minute when Zorhan Bassong and Joel Waterman had a miscommunication and failed to clear a through ball, leaving Uriel Antuna through on goal. The former LA Galaxy winger took his chance and beat Montréal goalkeeper Sebastian Breza, giving his team the early lead.
Outshot 12-0 by halftime, Montréal left for the locker room with a one-goal deficit feeling slightly optimistic as the scoreline could have been much worse.
But Cruz Azul continued to press their Canadian counterparts after the break. At the 55th minute, Antuna outpaced Bassong along the left flank before sending a cross to Angel Romero, forcing Breza to deny the Paraguayan's floating header.
Despite their 19 shots, Cruz Azul couldn't capitalize on their many scoring chances, leaving Montréal in need of just one goal on their home pitch to level the series in Leg 2.
Goals
- 20' – CRZ – Uriel Antuna | WATCH
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: Cruz Azul dominated Montréal for an easy 1-0 win, but was it enough? Outshooting the Canadians 19-1 at the Azteca, La Maquina may regret their missed chances on goal to increase their lead ahead of Leg 2 on March 16 at Stade Olympique. The series winner faces the New England Revolution or Liga MX's Pumas UNAM in the semifinal round.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: Uriel Antuna took advantage of a poorly cleared through ball to find himself clean on goal. One-on-one with goalkeeper Sebastian Breza, Antuna didn’t spoil his chance to score what became the game-winner.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Uriel Antuna dominated his right flank and scored in the first half to give Cruz Azul a 1-0 aggregate advantage heading into Leg 2.
Next Up
- CRZ: Saturday, March 12 vs. Pumas UNAM | 8 pm ET | Liga MX
- MTL: Saturday, March 12 at NYCFC | 1 pm ET (MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US, TVA Sports in Canada) | MLS Regular Season
