Champions Cup Quarter-final previews

Data and graphics from Concacaf.com and Sofascore, photo from Récord.

The second legs of the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarter-finals kick-off today, and with three draws from the first legs, these matches will be decisive. Here, I’ll analyze the most noteworthy aspects from the first legs that included Mexican sides, and tactical questions ahead of the return legs.

América 0 - 0 Cruz Azul

André Jardine has his plan to beat Cruz Azul in a two-legged knockout. Just like their match-ups in recent liguilla’s, América made it a tight game, and came away with a draw. Jardine’s side often create a back-five in their low block, with Alejandro Zendejas or Alan Cervantes helping the defense out, but in this match América used a back-five as their starting formation. This was the system when Las Águilas won the Apertura 2024 title.

After a first half with limited opportunities, América did enough to have won the match, but Zendejas, Diego Valdés and Álvaro Fidalgo missed some important chances.

xG race chart, showing each shot and the cumulative xG

Cruz Azul moved the ball into the final third on more occasions than América, but weren’t particularly effective in attack. La Máquina have often failed to create clear chances against a back-five, when they aren’t able to generate numerical superiority via their three attackers plus the wing-backs.

Cruz Azul also didn’t have Carlos Rotondi available for the first leg, and therefore lacked his creativity from the left. Nacho Rivero took his place as a left-wing-back, and only attempted one cross during the match. Rivero is more effective at attacking crosses or making runs in-behind, and his movement almost lead to the only goal of the game, but the Uruguayan was offside.

Cruz Azul crosses vs América

Vicente Sánchez also has to decide if he’ll continue to start with Luka Romero or not. Romero has lacked attacking output at the start of his spell with Cruz Azul. Primarily an attacking midfielder that attempts his own shots, rather than creating chances for teammates, Romero hasn’t been able to consistently find enough space to get clear shots off. 14 of his 21 shots in Liga MX have been blocked.

Questions:

• Will Jardine stick to the back-five? Or is he going to use the 4-3-3 that he’s favored during Liga MX this season?

• How can Cruz Azul generate more threat for América’s backline?

LA Galaxy 0 - 0 Tigres UANL

Another game without goals, and without many clear chances. Tigres had more total shots and touches in the box, partly due to Joaquim’s effectiveness at set-pieces. The Brazilian centre-back ended with five shots.

LA Galaxy changed aspects of their strategy for this game, compared with their MLS tactics. Looking to attack with more speed and exploit transitions, Joseph Paintsil, making his first start of the season, played as a striker on paper. But Paintil is a winger, and therefore Galaxy effectively had two right-wingers during the first half, with Paintsil and Gabriel Pec. The majority of their attacks came from the right.

% of attacks through each three vertical lanes (left, centre, right)

Tigres also attacked more from wide areas during the match, but via both flanks. In Guido Pizarro’s first games, we’ve seen much more patience on the ball (89% pass success versus LA Galaxy for example), and more attacks built out wide between the wing-back, attacking midfielder and Juan Brunetta. His side hasn’t adapted particularly well though, with less than one xG created in three of Tigres’ four Liga MX matches under Guido.

Tigres’ key passes vs LA Galaxy

Questions:

• Are LA Galaxy, the team that ranked third for possession in MLS 2024, going to try to exploit counter-attacks once again? And can they create more than the first leg?

• Can Tigres penetrate LA Galaxy’s defense from out wide, or will they end up crossing from deep?

Vancouver Whitecaps 1 - 1 Pumas UNAM

Vancouver have had a strong start to their season. They didn’t just beat Monterrey last round, but also lead the Western Conference of MLS after seven matches. Vancouver have based their league success on a possession-heavy style (ranking fifth in the metric) and attacks from wide (first for successful crosses in MLS). Jesper Sorensen’s side have also shown that they won’t just defend and try to counter-attack against Mexican sides in the Champions Cup.

In the first leg, Vancouver used a 4-3-3, but with different rotations on either wing. On the right, winger Pedro Vite tried to pin Ruben Duarte in the centre, to open space out wide for right-back Édier Ocampo’s overlaps, who played a much more attacking role than their left-back.

Heat maps of Vancouver’s full-backs and wingers, showing their different positioning and rotations on the flanks.

However, Efraín Juárez had planned for Vancouver’s wide rotations, and Robert Ergas was used to defend with a back-five, covering the left-wing. Given this adjustment, and an overall defensive line-up, it was another tight match with few chances. Pumas needed an Adelberto Carrasquilla golazo to come away with a draw.

Pumas have had problems in goal all season long, with youngsters Pablo Lara and Álex Padilla both making errors, and in the first leg Padilla struggled to deal with Vancouver’s crosses, eventually leading to the first goal of the match. This is something that the Canadian side will surely look to exploit during the second leg.

Juárez will have to consider the mentality of his team, and line-up. Important parts of the Pumas attack were left on the bench for the first leg; Ignacio Pussetto, Leo Suárez, Jorge Ruvalcaba and Pablo Monroy, with Juárez focused on limiting Vancouver’s attacking threat. But back at home, Pumas’ head coach may try to dominate the game with a more attacking approach.

Questions:

• Can Vancouver find more success through their wide attacks? Can Padilla and Pumas defend their crosses into the box?

• How will Juárez line-up? Will he make attacking changes for the second leg?

Thank you for reading, if you’d like to contact me regarding any questions, comments or to consult my services, you can contact me on:

• Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/tomh36.bsky.social

• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-harrison-a682a2175/

• Twitter/X - https://x.com/tomh_36

También, se puede leer este artículo en Español- https://cambiodejuego.beehiiv.com/