Monterrey all but ends Sporting KC’s Champions League hopes with 5-0 thrashing
The vexation revealed itself as winger Johnny Russell tilted his head toward the sky and screamed toward nothing in particular, as goalkeeper Tim Melia shoved a forward off his body, as captain Matt Besler turned toward the Sporting Kansas City bench seemingly looking for a solution that would not come.
Wrapped inside those 90 minutes of images, Sporting KC was firmly in a position unfamiliar: The wrong of a whooping.
Which left this much clear: Liga MX still reigns supreme over MLS.
Monterrey overwhelmed Sporting KC 5-0 on its home field in Mexico on Thursday to open a two-game CONCACAF Champions League semifinal series that feels over before it even returns to Kansas City.
“They were relentless,” Sporting coach Peter Vermes said.
Absent a remarkable turnaround next week, the most successful Champions League run in Sporting history is on the verge of extinction, following every one of its MLS predecessors for the past 11 years.
Sporting will play host to Monterrey in the second leg of the semifinal series on Thursday at Children’s Mercy Park — a venue in which it has outscored opponents 15-1. But Monterrey is an no ordinary opponent.
And it will almost certainly leave Sporting KC to follow the route all of its MLS counterparts have traveled. Five days after Sporting KC out-classed Montreal 7-1 in its most convincing outing in years, the gap between MLS and Liga MX was fully on display from the opening whistle to the relief of the final one.
Monterrey was better in every facet of the game. It was faster, more talented, significantly more dangerous in a match that became stretched and just plain more comfortable with the setting of a Champions League semifinal.
Dorlan Pabon and Aviles Hurtado scored in the initial quarter-hour, and Jesus Gallardo, Nicolas Sanchez and Pabon provided series daggers after halftime, producing a 5-0 scoreline that was every bit representative of the disparity in play.
“We left ourselves exposed,” Vermes said. “And when you don’t keep the ball in those moments — and you’re not going to because you’re not positioned well — a team like that will crush you. And they did.”
No MLS team has ever won the modern format of CCL, and Sporting is playing in its first semifinal. In the opening round a month ago, Sporting won a match on Mexican soil for the first time.
A more intimidating environment awaited in Monterrey. Sporting KC succumbed to it.
The first goal was merely a warning shot.
In its preparation for semifinal, Sporting spoke of the danger in Monterrey’s transition. The speed. It showed up early, aided by a slew of Sporting KC turnovers.
Pabon, the playmaker in Monterrey’s counter, outran Sporting’s backline on the first goal, then pushed a shot past goalkeeper Tim Melia, who had come off his line. Just seven minutes into the game, Monterrey had the advantage on its home field.
It was a sign of things to come. Aviles Hurtado pounced on the aftermath of an ill-cleared cross and tapped the ball into an open net in the 14th minute.
It could’ve been worse in the initial half, and it was in the second half. Monterrey put 11 shots on goal. Even during a night in which he allowed five, Melia made six saves, his high in this tournament. Sporting KC did not place a shot on target in the first hour, finally forcing action from goalkeeper Marcelo Barovero on Krisztian Nemeth’s shot in the 65th minute.
In three days, Sporting KC will return to a more comfortable environment, back to MLS play in Cincinnati.
“There’s not much time here to think about a lot of stuff other than getting back to playing,” Vermes said.
This story was originally published April 4, 2019 at 11:11 PM with the headline "Monterrey all but ends Sporting KC’s Champions League hopes with 5-0 thrashing."