Montreal’s CCL Opponent Draws League Opener

CF Montreal’s CONCACAF Champions league opponents, last night began LigaMX’s Clausura in similar fashion to how they ended the season’s Apertura...

Having drawn more than half their games in the early-season, 17-match programme, Santos Laguna failed to overcome Miguel Herrera’s Tigres, the side whose late goals ensured Santos’ elimination at the Apertura quarter-final stage last November.

Back then late goals in each game of the two legged tie, the ultimate winner an 82nd min strike from former Real Salt Lake centre-back, Carlos Salcedo ended the Verdiblancos hopes...

And again it was the big centre-back who popped up late to thwart the Torreon club. Gathering a cross on the edge of the box, Salcedo’s shot was half-blocked, with the deflection enough to completely wrong-foot Acevedo in Santos’ goal.

Uruguayan international Robert Lozano had given the Verdiblancos a 49th minute lead with a long-ranger which Guzman in Tigres goal should have dealt with better.

Photo by Manuel Guadarrama/Getty Images

One thing Montreal’s upcoming opponent will be happy with however is preventing Tigres’ French striker Andre-Pierre Gignac from scoring. Gignac with 9 is the record goalscorer in LigaMX games between the clubs. He did have the ball in the net as his side trailed 0-1 but was correctly ruled offside. That apart, Santos centre-backs, Brazilian, Doria (27) and Ecuadoran, Felix Torres (25), kept the veteran Frenchman anonymous.

Santos Laguna will have four more LigaMX fixtures before Montreal meets them in the Canadian club’s first competitive match of the season. They play Toluca (a), Necaxa (h), Atlas (a) and Club America (h) before the Champions League comes around, clearly a significant advantage for the Mexicans.