Club Leon, Atlas continue SCCL momentum in Liga MX | OneFootball

MIAMI, Florida – The 2023 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Round of 16 is in the books and several of the teams that emerged triumphant to reach the quarterfinal round carried that momentum back into their domestic league campaigns.

After their dramatic 4-0 win over Olimpia of Honduras that propelled them to a comeback 5-4 aggregate victory, Atlas stayed scorching hot with a 4-0 win over Puebla to improve their Liga MX mark to 2W-6D-4L and 12th in the table.

Brian Lozano got things going early with a long-range free kick in the 5’, followed by a spectacular overhead kick by Julian Quinones in the 16’ to make it 2-0.

There was no let-up from Atlas in the second half, as the margin stretched to 3-0 in the 51’ via a Gaston Silva own goal, before Lozano tallied his second of the night in the 69’ with another free kick into the top right corner of net to complete the 4-0 scoreline.

Club Leon, who defeated Panama’s Tauro 2-0 in midweek, also enjoyed another winning outing by downing Santos Laguna 4-1 at home for their third straight Liga MX win.

Victor Davila kicked off the scoring festivities for Club Leon with a powerful finish into the top right corner of net in the 6’. Ivan Moreno then replicated that feat, sending a rocket into the same spot to double the lead, 2-0 in the 27’.

Two minutes later a red card to Santos gave Club Leon a man advantage and they made the most of it, with Davila increasing the lead to 3-0 right before halftime with a left-footed shot that took a slight deflection and rolled into net. Santos pulled a goal back in the 58’, but the night would belong to Club Leon, who closed out the scoring in the 65’ when Fidel Ambriz smacked a header into net off a corner kick.

With the win, Club Leon rise to fifth in the table with a 6W-3D-2L record.

Rounding out the Liga MX teams remaining in the SCCL was Tigres, who narrowly fell 1-0 to city rivals Monterrey just days after their dramatic SCCL quarterfinal qualification with a 1-1 draw at Orlando City SC.

A second half goal for Rayados served as the lone score, leaving Tigres in sixth place in the table with a 6W-3D-3L record.

The fourth week of the MLS season was played on Saturday, with the three remaining SCCL teams all in action.

After eliminating Alajuelense of Costa Rica in midweek 4-2 on aggregate, Los Angeles FC showed off their defensive prowess in a 0-0 draw at 2022 SCCL champions Seattle Sounders. GK John McCarthy of LAFC stood tall in making four saves to record the clean sheet.

The Vancouver Whitecaps returned to the field of play after their 7-3 aggregate win versus Real Espana of Honduras in a 1-1 draw at the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Tristan Blackmon gave the Canadians a 1-0 lead with a strong header off a set piece, but the Galaxy would pull even right before halftime, 1-1, leaving the Whitecaps with a share of the spoils.

The third MLS quarterfinalist, the Philadelphia Union, were edged out by Eastern Conference rivals CF Montreal 3-2 in Montreal.

Romell Quito converted a penalty in the 3’ to hand Montreal an early 1-0 advantage, but the Union responded with a pair of goals from Mikael Uhre in the 46’ and 60’ to take a 2-1 lead. Uhre first slid in a right-footed effort inside the near post, followed by a composed finish to polish off a counterattack.

However, a sending off for FW Julian Carranza in the 69’ gave Montreal a key man advantage and the home side tallied two goals in second half stoppage time to claim victory, 3-2.