SEATTLE - Just like in Liga MX, André Jardine's América is playing like a well-oiled machine that is very hard to stop. Their 5-2 victory over the New England Revolution on Tuesday sealed their place in this year's CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinals.
It was a hard ask for New England to put an end to América's continental season, as Jardine's team has been -without a doubt- the best team in CONCACAF for the last 12 months. The 'Azulcremas' are currently tied on points with Toluca at the top of Liga MX, having lost just twice in the last two tournaments combined.
The team has had strong performances in the continental tournament despite rotations. Ever since losing to LAFC in the 2020 semifinals, América has not been eliminated from a CCL/CCC series when playing non-Mexican opponents.
They completely dominated the MLS side over the two-legged tie, winning 9-2 on aggregate. América's thrashing of the Revs was the second-biggest aggregate win in competition history between Liga MX and MLS teams, only surpassed by Monterrey's 10-2 victory over Sporting KC in 2019.
But MLS still has hopes at securing the continental title. Columbus Crew eliminated Tigres via penalties to seal a place in the semifinals, the first time an MLS team defeated a Mexican team in a penalty shootout. And on Wednesday, Inter Miami will have a chance to make it an All-MLS matchup in the semifinals if they are able to overcome a 2-1 deficit at Monterrey's Estadio BBVA.
Only once in the CONCACAF Champions Cup has an MLS Team eliminated a Liga MX side after collecting a negative result at home. Luckily for Messi and company, that instance happened last night when Columbus Crew eliminated Tigres. Before the Crew, 21 teams tried to overcome a deficit in Mexican soil but all of them failed.
Despite clinching the Leagues Cup last year, Inter Miami only faced one Mexican team on the way to the title. Their group stage match against Cruz Azul was a tight game that was decided by a Lionel Messi free-kick goal on added time.
With the Argentine star expected to make his return to the lineup against Monterrey, the Herons will need all the help they can get if they want to advance to the next round, as Rayados hasn't lost a CCL/CCC game to an MLS team in more than a decade.
Monterrey has a 6-1-1 record at home against such opponents and the only MLS team that was able to defeat them was the Seattle Sounders, a 1-0 win for the MLS team in Aug. 2011.
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