New York City, Seattle Sounders on top as MLS sides dominate in CONCACAF Champions League

NEW YORK: Major League Soccer clubs dominated the first quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Champions League on Tuesday, with New York City FC defeating Guatemalan side Comunicaciones and the Seattle Sounders defeating Mexico’s Leon.

New York City FC defeated Comunicaciones 3-1 in the first leg at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut, thanks to goals from Valentin Castellanos, Maxi Moralez, and Santiago Rodriguez.

On 29 minutes, Castellanos scored with a glancing header, but Manuel Gamboa equalised for Comunicaciones on the hour mark, thumping home a close-range strike.

Moralez restored New York’s lead five minutes later with a volley into the roof of the net to make it 2-1, and Rodriguez made it 3-1 in the 71st minute with a two-goal cushion.

“It was even in the start of the game and then I think we had better control,” New York head coach Ronny Deila said.

“We created a lot of chances and scored three goals. We got a good result to take with us to Guatemala, but it’s only halftime, there’s still a lot of work to do.”

Fredy Montero, a veteran Colombian striker for the Seattle Sounders, scored two goals in the first half to lead his club to a 3-0 victory over Leon.

Montero scored his first goal in the 31st minute and his second in the 39th minute when he tucked away a cross from Cristian Roldan.

After a counter-attack in the 90th minute, US international Jordan Morris capped the scoring with a potentially critical third goal, putting Seattle in the semi-finals.

Four Major League Soccer teams have advanced to the last eight of the CONCACAF Champions League, hoping to end a 22-year drought in the competition.

The Los Angeles Galaxy were the last MLS team to win the region’s top club competition in 2000.

On Wednesday, MLS’s Montreal Impact will meet Mexico’s Cruz Azul, while the New England Revolution will face Pumas UNAM in the first leg of the quarter-finals.

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