Atlanta United knew they had a tall task coming into their 2019 Concacaf Champions League quarterfinal series against Liga MX power Monterrey, and after losing 3-0 on the road last week, their hopes of advancing were dealt quite a blow.
Still, Frank de Boer’s group didn’t give up, and the Five Stripes beat the Rayados 1-0 on Wednesday in the series second leg at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It wasn’t enough to move on in the tournament, but Atlanta became the first team to beat Monterrey in 2019.
It snaps a 13-game unbeaten run in competitive games for Monterrey so far this year — nine games in Liga MX play and three in CCL. They had racked up an 8-0-5 record entering Wednesday’s game.
And Atlanta are the first MLS team to beat Monterrey since the Seattle Sounders won 1-0 in Monterrey in the group stage of the 2011-12 tournament. The Rayados went on to win that tournament, the second of three consecutive titles for the Mexican side.
So all in all, Atlanta couldn’t continue their CCL run, but they did notch a win against a team that has been a tough out, both this year in general and in CCL over time against MLS opposition.
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