The UANL Tigers they beat León 2-1 and took the lead in the semifinal of the Concacaf Champions League, whose finalists will be decided next week. Mexican Sebastián Córdova and Colombian Luis Quiñones scored for Uruguayan coach Robert Dante Siboldi’s Tigres, and Chilean Víctor Dávila scored for Argentine Nicolás Larcamón’s León.
The first half was of numerous arrivals to the area with terrible aim from one side and the other. León surprised the Tigres with a left-footed goal from Dávila off a pass from Argentine Lucas Di Yorio, in a play started by Colombian Stiven Barreiro.
Rafael De Souza (Tigres) disputes the ball with Lucas Di Yorio (León)
What followed was a two-way game in which León missed several opportunities to extend the lead, with errors by Elías Hernández and Barreiro, stopped by two good saves by goalkeeper Nahuel Guzmán and Ecuadorian Angel Mena. Tigres also let go of several clear plays on goal, three of them by Frenchman André Pierre Gignac and one by Quiñones, whose shot was saved by goalkeeper Rodolfo Cota.
The local team needed four minutes to erase the bad impression of their lack of forcefulness; at 45 Córdova scored a pass from Quiñones, who at 45+3 scored with his left foot to make it 2-1. The second half was slower, the other side of the first; In the 71st minute, Guzmán stopped a shot from Fidel Ambriz that could have been León’s equalizing goal and confirmed the goalkeeper’s good night.
The second leg will be played on Wednesday May 3 in León; the winner of the series will play the final against the best between the Phialdelphia Union and Los Angeles FC of the MLS, who will play the first leg this Wednesday.
DATA SHEET
2 – Tigers: Nahuel Guzman; Jesus Angulo, Samir de Souza, Igos Lichnovsky; Javier Aquino, Rafael Carioca, Guido Pizarro, Sebastián Córdova (Nicolás Ibáñez m.75), Fernando Gorriarán (Diego Lainez m.85); Luis Quiñones (Jesús Garza m.75), André Pierre Gignac
Coach: Robert Dante Siboldi
1 – Lion: Rodolfo Cota; Iván Moreno, Stiven Barreiro, Adonis Frías, Osvaldo Rodríguez (Paul Bellón m.90); Fidel Ambriz (Jesús Angulo m.91), Lucas Romero, Angel Mena, Elías Hernández (Joel Campbell m.56); Víctor Dávila (José Alvarado m.66); Lucas Di Yorio (Brian Rubio d.66)
Coach: Nicolas Larcamon
goals: 0-1, Víctor Dávila (m. 6); 1-1, Sebastián Córdova (m. 45); 2-1, Luis Quiñones (d. 45+3)
Referee: Armando Villarreal, from the United States. He admonished Igor Lichnovski, Osvaldo Rodríguez, Iván Moreno and Lucas Romero
incidents: First leg of the semifinal of the Concacaf Champions League, held at the Universitario de Monterrey stadium, in northern Mexico, in front of more than 38,500 fans
