With one leg down and one to go, the CONCACAF Champions League title is still very much up for grabs after Cruz Azul and Toluca battled to a 0-0 draw in the first game of the final of the 2013-14 tournament on Tuesday night.
Cruz Azul, the home side, slightly outshot their opponents, 15-13, who in turn showed better ball possession and movement in their opponents' home venue. Unsurpisingly, Mexico international Marco Fabián was at the heart of Cruz Azul's best moves, registering seven shots over the course of the evening and very nearly scoring a last-gasp winner only to see Alfredo Talavera deny him with a superb save.
Toluca had two of the best opportunities of the rest of the game in the second half, the first coming when Pablo Velázquez forced a point-blank save from Cruz Azul 'keeper Guillermo Allison – filling in the for the suspended Jesús Corona – in the 62nd minute. Midfielder Antonio Ríos also struck the post with a spectacular long-range drive in the 87th minute.
The series will now head back to Toluca's Estadio Nemesio Díez for the decisive leg on April 23, with the winner booking a spot in the 2014 Club World Cup in Morocco.
