Returning finalists Monterrey and Santos Laguna navigated through tricky first leg assignments last week in a composed manner befitting their extensive experience in the CONCACAF Champions League.
Lesser teams might have stumbled given the task on tap as the semifinals commenced. Monterrey could have permitted the Galaxy to turn one of its bright spells into a victory in Carson, Calif. Santos Laguna could have succumbed to a toothless and weakened Sounders FC side at CenturyLink Field if the attention and the commitment had dropped at some stage along the way.
Instead of allowing Los Angeles or Seattle to grab a foothold in their semifinal ties with confidence-building results, both Mexican sides picked up vital away wins in the United States to take one massive step toward arranging yet another final between Liga MX teams.
The job isn't quite done yet, though. These seasoned sides must still complete their missions on home soil in midweek to quell any talk about the emergence of American parity in this competition.
No reasonable discussion on that particular point would crop up after watching Seattle flail around against Santos Laguna on Tuesday night. Seattle coach Sigi Schmid revealed the gulf between the two squads when he omitted Eddie Johnson and Obafemi Martins for injury concerns and relegated the out-of-form Mauro Rosales and Steve Zakuani to the bench. The home side understandably lacked incisiveness with most of its top players missing at the outset, and gifted a goal to Hérculez Gómez to place itself in a difficult spot ahead of the second leg at Estadio Corona.
Santos welcomes the Sounders to Torreón on Tuesday night (8 PM ET, FOX Soccer) with most of the hard work already done. Pedro Caixinha's side will advance with a draw after the 1-0 victory in Seattle a week ago. Previous exploits in this position – including a 6-1 second leg victory over the Sounders at the quarterfinal stage last year – suggest Santos will expect to book a place in the final with a more resounding result.
Seattle may facilitate that sort of emphatic triumph as it attempts to turn the tie around. Gómez's goal means the Sounders must score at least once and stop Santos for breaching their somewhat pliant rearguard. If Seattle pushes forward too earnestly in search of that goal in the early stages it could invite Santos to counter as frequently as it did in the first leg and polish off the series with a goal or two on the break.
Los Angeles faces similar concerns about its balance as it prepares to enter Estadio Tecnológico on Wednesday night (10 PM ET, FOX Soccer). Veteran poachers Humberto Suazo and Aldo de Nigris punished the Galaxy for a dearth of composure in the late stages and turned a potential L.A. victory into a possibly crippling 2-1 defeat. In order to atone for those unexpected wobbles, Bruce Arena's side must score at least twice on foreign soil to keep its hopes of a spot in the final alive.
Even for a squad boasting the likes of Landon Donovan, Juninho (expected to return after departing through injury in the first leg) and Robbie Keane, that particular task presents a difficult challenge. Any margin for error slipped away in the final few minutes of the first leg. The visit to Monterrey – one of the more difficult places to play in Mexico – requires a dose of pragmatism and a hearty helping of gumption to keep the match competitive. Monterrey coach Victor Manuel Vucetich even stripped away one of the few potential advantages for the visitors when he rested several of his regulars for Sunday's 1-0 defeat at Toluca. Not even the extra rest afforded by the league-mandated break to prepare for the second leg will benefit the Galaxy now.
A weekend off probably will not provide enough of an edge for either Los Angeles and Seattle to pull back the ground that was lost last week. Their chances of claiming a place in the final suffered a fatal blow when they failed to take care of business at home. Only an effort of historic proportions – namely, a first victory in Mexico during the championship round – will somehow salvage the situation.
Based on the evidence provided in the first legs, it is not forthcoming. A new order may emerge at some point down the line, but it isn't arriving this year. Instead, the status quo – a rematch from last year's final, even – looks likely to carry the day yet again.
