History suggests that the three MLS teams remaining in the 2018 Concacaf Champions League faced long odds as they began their two-legged quarterfinal matchups vs. Liga MX opposition; MLS teams are 3-29 all-time in such series vs. Mexican teams.
But the New York Red Bulls, Seattle Sounders and Toronto FC all drew first blood, winning the first leg of their duels with Club Tijuana, Chivas Guadalajara and Tigres UANL, respectively. These showdowns are only halfway done, but it's safe to say that the newspapers down in Mexico didn't approve of the Liga MX trio's performances.
Récord's headline blared the loudest, pairing a saucy image of Clint Dempsey celebrating his match-winning goal in Seattle with a headline based on the popular meme mocking Mexican politician Ricardo Anaya's "insulting and unacceptable" phrase in reference to "the triple triumph of MLS" against Liga MX:
The three CCL losses weren't a joke to the outlet's reporters, though, and were indeed branded as "unacceptable."
In regard to the Sounders-Chivas game in particular, the outlet's inside pages declared that the Guadalajara side "paid for their errors" and "did not take advantage of their dominance" as their inability to beat goalkeeper Stefan Frei "ended up costing them victory in their visit to Seattle." Another article, dubbed "they weren't worth their millions," critiqued the setback in Toronto for Tigres' expensively-assembled squad:
Declaring that the Liga MX champions "froze in CCL" and "left Toronto injured," Tigres' local paper El Norte also delivered harsh judgments, calling TFC's 2-1 comeback win "a failure on a chilly night" for coach Ricardo "Tuca" Ferretti and his talented side.
The CCL action also drew heavy coverage in the United States' Spanish-language press, with Southern California-based paper La Opinion stating that "MLS left a reply" with the three wins, and that "Toronto won the battle of heavyweights," taking the advantage over Tigres via "an agonizing goal."
Meanwhile, TFC's hometown tabloid the Toronto Sun didn't miss a chance to coin a memorable headline, either, calling the reigning Mexican champs "paper tigers" on the cover of its sports section:
