Columbus shock Tigres, advance to Champions Cup semis
The Columbus Crew have advanced to the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals in thrilling fashion, topping Liga MX power Tigres UANL 4-3 on penalty kicks after drawing their Leg 2 fixture at Estadio Universitario 1-1 on Tuesday. Goalkeeper Patrick Schulte made a pair of massive saves in the decisive shootout, atoning for an early error that led to Tigres' opening goal. Diego Rossi scored the equalizing goal in the 59th minute. The Crew are the first MLS team to advance on the road in Mexico in a Concacaf series after failing to win the first leg at home.
Miami look to copy the Crew
Inter Miami CF face a 2-1 aggregate hole before Leg 2 of their Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal series, needing a historic performance Wednesday evening at CF Monterrey's Estadio BBVA to advance in the regional competition. Kickoff is set for 10:30 pm ET on FS1 and TUDN.
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New England exit Champions Cup with loss at Club AmƩrica
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I have a confession: Despite my bravery (hold your applause) in picking Columbus to advance past Tigres in yesterdayās newsletter, thereās a slight chance I overstated my confidence level. In the history of this tournament, an MLS team had never advanced past a Liga MX team after drawing or losing the first leg at home. We were in uncharted territory. Hopefully, you can forgive me for having private concerns about the Crewās ability to advance. And hopefully, you consider Iām being very brave (hold your applause) again by admitting this. And hopefully, you can ignore the fact I also bravely (hold it) picked the Revs to win 5-1 against Club AmĆ©rica.
I say all that to frame just how remarkable this win is for Columbus. From a macro-level view, itās remarkable because it hasnāt happened in the 16 years since the modern version of Concacaf Champions Cup came into existence in 2008. From a micro-level view, itās remarkable because the Crew looked dead and buried three minutes into the match. Like, more dead and buried than we already kind of assumed they were heading into El VolcĆ”n needing a result. When Patrick Schulte and the Crew went full āWhen Playing It Out Of The Back Goes Wrongā to start the match and allowed a disaster of a goal, the game felt over.
Instead, the Crew steered into the skid and regained control. There were, of course, still moments where Tigres showed their quality ā I still canāt believe AndrĆ©-Pierre Gignac missed a huge chance in the box in the second half ā but Columbus never lost their composure, played a typical Crew game and showed again why no one in MLS has a stronger sense of self-belief.
Itās the same sense of belief that allowed them to come back from 2-1 down to FC Cincinnati in last yearās Eastern Conference Final and allowed Schulte to have a full redemption arc throughout the opening and final whistle. The former MLS SuperDraft pick made up for the opening goal with two critical saves in penalties that sealed a win for Columbus.
Now, the Crew are onto the CCC semifinals with a historic win already in tow. Theyāll face the winner of tonightās matchup between Inter Miami and CF Monterrey. Thereās another tough task ahead of them regardless of who advances. At this point, itās not brave to pick Columbus (hold)ā¦ itās just smart.
Inter Miami attempt to copy their role models, the Columbus Crew
Thereās a chance weāre about to see back-to-back nights of Concacaf history. But before you go get a second bottle of champagne, keep in mind how Inter Miami have an even steeper hill to climb.
The Herons head to Monterrey tonight down 2-1 and facing an even better team. Conceding two away goals last week is a big deal for aggregate purposes. Now, you can argue El VolcĆ”n is a more hostile environment than Estadio BBVA, but Tigres have one Concacaf Champions title, and it came in 2020. Rayados have won five since 2010. Theyāre a nightmare in this competition and have outpaced Tigres in the Liga MX standings, both in the Apertura and Clausura.
BUT.
And this is a really big ābut.ā
Only one team has Lionel Messi tonight. If he didnāt seem set to start, Iād go ahead and finish piling dirt on the Heronsā CCC grave. Instead, Iām inclined to slowly shuffle some dirt around them just to wait and see if they pop out of their coffin like The Undertaker. Miami have the best player of all time on their side, and thatās the kind of thing that feels conducive to pulling off an all-time Concacaf win.
Any other analysis feels superfluous. Either Messi puts on a show and the Herons pull this off, or Messi canāt get going and Miamiās erratic defense comes back to bite them again.
There are going to be moments of adversity tonight. Thatās a given. Miamiās response to those moments will decide this series. When they come, Miami will have to look at themselves in the mirror and ask a simple question: What would the Crew do?
- Patrick Schulte's heroics pushed Columbus Crew to a historic upset of Tigres UANL
- .Joe Lowery looked at why the early-season stats love these eight MLS players.
- Charles Boehm picked out the standout young players of Matchday 8.
- Brad Guzan did the unexpected for Atlanta United in this weekās Energy Moment of the Matchday presented by Celsius.
- Power Rankings.
- Taylor Twellman says there are āno excusesā for Sporting KC against Inter Miami at Arrowhead Stadium.
Good luck out there. Change the narrative.