Cruz Azul, reigning champions of the Concacaf Champions League (Concachampions), drew 1-1 with Rayados de Monterrey on Tuesday and qualified for the round of 16 with a 4-3 aggregate score.
Argentine Jorge Rodríguez gave Los Rayados the lead and his compatriot José Paradela salvaged a draw for coach Nicolás Larcamón’s Azules.
Responds with character and seals his pass
Compelled to win after losing the first leg 2-3, the Rayados came out pressing.
In the 8th minute they took the lead with a goal by Rodriguez from outside the area from a pass by Roberto de la Rosa.
In the rain, both teams had scoring opportunities in the remainder of the first half, with goalkeepers Andrés Gudiño of Cruz Azul and Luis Cárdenas of Rayados making timely saves.
Cruz Azul tied the match in the 47th minute with an elegant goal by Paradela in this Concachampions round of 16 duel.
He accepted a ball from Omar Campos and back-heeled it into the corner to beat Cárdenas, who had no chance of making a save.
Monterrey had a hard time recovering against a local team that moved the ball with sobriety, dominated and came closer to scoring their second goal than conceding one.
In the Concachampions quarterfinals, Cruz Azul will face Los Angeles FC, which eliminated Costa Rica’s Alajuelense.
Technical data
Cruz Azul: Andrés Gudiño; Gonzalo Piovi (Amaury García m.37), Erik Lira, Willer Ditta; Jorge Rodarte, Jeremy Márquez, Agustín Palavecino (Luka Romero m.72), Omar Campos (Josué Díaz m.87), Carlos Rodríguez, José Paradela (Andrés Montaño m.87); Nicolás Ibáñez (Gabriel Fernández m.68).
Coach: Nicolás Larcamón.
Monterrey: Luis Cárdenas; Carlos Salcido, Víctor Guzmán (Ricardo Chávez m.69), Daniel Aceves (Gerardo Arteaga m.22), Luis Reyes, César Bustos; Jorge Rodríguez, Carlos Frayde (Luca Orellano m.60), Roberto de la Rosa (Uros Djurdevic m.69); Jesús Corona, Anthony Martial (Cristian Reyes m.60).
Coach: Nicolás Sánchez.
Cruz Azul tied the match in the 47th minute
QuéOnnda.com
Goals: 0-1, minute 8: Jorge Rodríguez. 1-1, 47th minute: José Paradela.
Referee: Joseph Dickerson, of the United States. Yellow cards for Gonzalo Piovi, Jorge Rodarte, Carlos Frayde, Víctor Guzmán, Carlos Salcedo and Jorge Rodríguez.
Incidents: Second leg of the Concachampions round of 16 between Cruz Azul and Monterrey played at the Cuauhtémoc Stadium in Puebla, central Mexico.
With information from EFE
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