New York Red Bulls 3, Atletico Pantoja 0 | Concacaf Champions League Recap

Michael Murillo - New York Red Bulls - CCL - Atletico Pantoja

The New York Red Bulls advanced to the quarterfinal of the 2019 Concacaf Champions League, after defeating Dominican club Atlético Pantoja 3-0 at Red Bull Arena on Wednesday in the round of 16 second leg, to win the series 5-0 on aggregate.


New York controlled the run of play throughout, but while they won comfortably, they perhaps could have won by a larger margin if their build-up play and finishing was a bit sharper.


The Red Bulls took the lead in Wednesday's game in the 27th minute, as Sean Davis headed in a failed Pantoja clearance in the visitors' box. Four minutes later, defender Connor Lade earned a penalty, which Daniel Royer stepped up to convert. Andreas Ivan came off the bench and added a goal deep in the second half.


New York will face Liga MX side Santos Laguna in the quarterfinal round.


Goals


  • 27' – RBNY – Sean Davis
  • 32' – RBNY – Daniel Royer (PK)
  • 75' – RBNY – Andreas Ivan


Three Things 


  • THE BIG PICTURE: The Red Bulls got a favorable round of 16 draw against a CCL debutant, and taking care of business is a good first step. From here, the intensity in the competition ramps up considerably, as they will face one of the leading teams in the competition in Santos. New York showed last year they can compete with Mexican sides, but Michael Murillo picking up a yellow-card suspension to miss the first leg against Santos is going to hurt.

  • MOMENT OF THE MATCH
    : The series was effectively put away with Davis' "heads up" play to open the scoring on the night.

  • MAN OF THE MATCH: Royer had a goal and another shot off the post, and his night was the most active for the Red Bulls, so he gets the nod in the victory.

  • Next Up


    • RBNY: Saturday, March 2 at Columbus Crew SC (4:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in USA; DAZN in Canada)