Cruz Azul Vs. Santos Laguna, CONCACAF Champions League: Cruz Azul Will Take 2-0 Lead To Estadio Corona

Cruz Azul were the superior side for the vast majority of this match and their 2-0 first leg victory was well deserved; if anything, Santos Laguna were lucky to not have surrendered a third.

After a first half which saw both side defend sloppily but fail to capitalize on the miscues of their opponents, Cruz Azul came out firing in the second half. Javier Orozco put Azul ahead 58 minutes in and Christian Giménez doubled the lead just ten minutes later. Both goals were assisted in large part by some very poor effort at the back by Santos Laguna but their was some excellent play from Cruz Azul in the buildup as well; Orozco’s goal came after a stunning, weaving run from the edge of the box to the end line by Javier Aquino while Giménez was the recipient of a slick through ball from Emmanuel Villa that found him alone in acres of space.

Cruz Azul had several other chances to go ahead, most notably a half-volleyed one time rocket from Marcelo Palau that keeper Oswaldo Sánchez was only just able to turn away. The 2-0 lead certainly isn’t insurmountable for Santos Laguna, but they’ll need to put together a far more competent display when they host the return fixture on March 1st if they have any hope of advancing to the semi-finals.