Crew to face CF Monterrey in Champions Cup semifinal
The Crew have reached the semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup for the first time in club history and will face CF Monterrey next. The designated time frame for the first leg ranges from April 23-25, with the second leg being between April 30 and May 2.
Pachuca and America will face off in the other semifinal.
Monterrey is one of the top teams in Liga MX and has a storied history in the tournament, winning five Champions Cups, most recently in 2021.
The only time the Crew have faced Monterrey was during the 2021 Champions Cup, where they fell to the future champions in the quarterfinals by an aggregate score of 5-2.
Darlington Nagbe is the only player from that series’ starting lineup who is still with the Crew. Alex Matan and Evan Bush were bench options for those matches, with Matan seeing limited playing time under then-coach Caleb Porter.
To reach the semifinals, Monterrey had to stymie Inter-miami star Lionel Messi, who returned to the starting lineup for the first time since suffering a hamstring injury.
Former FC Cincinnati forward Brandon Vazquez has become a key contributor for Monterrey in his debut season with the club, specifically in CONCACAF play. The 25-year-old leads his team in goals during the tournament with four, including one in their second-leg victory over Miami.
For the Crew to advance to this stage, they had to make history and defeat Tigres on the road in penalty kicks. This marked the first time in Champions Cup history that an MLS team beat a Liga MX team club after failing to win its home leg.
bmackay@dispatch.com