FC Dallas 4, Arabe Unido 0 | CCL Quarterfinal Recap

Alicia Rodriguez

FC Dallas began their 2017 competitive slate in style on Thursday night, as they defeated Panamanian side Arabe Unido 4-0 at Toyota Stadium in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal first leg.

Newcomer Cristian Colman opened his FC Dallas account in the 30th minute. Kellyn Acosta's pinpoint strike doubled the lead for the hosts in the 55th minute, and the midfielder doubled his tally on the night in the 86th minute, before Michael Barrios capped off a strong performance with a goal of his own in the 91st minute.

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Goals

30' – DAL – Cristian Colman Watch
55' – DAL – Kellyn Acosta Watch
86' – DAL – Kellyn Acosta Watch
90+1 – DAL – Michael Barrios Watch

Three Things

DALLAS IN CONTROL: A win in a two-legged series is always good. One goal is decent, two better, three offers some comfort, and four gives the winner one foot in the next round. Based on what was a surprisingly good performance for being their first competitive game of the season, Dallas haven't gotten the job done yet, but they are definitely in control ahead of next week's return leg.
GOOD CONTRIBUTIONS FROM NEWCOMERS: Among the other highlights on the night, FC Dallas featured three newcomers in the starting XI, and all impressed in their debuts. In addition to Colman's goal, Roland Lamah assisted Acosta's first goal, and Hernan Grana slotted in neatly at right back. If the trio can bring this consistently, the rest of MLS is on notice that FC Dallas may be better than ever.
ROUGH TACKLES: Arabe Unido put in a disappointing performance on the night, frankly. Missing the vibrant play they showed in last fall's group stage, the No. 2 seed lacked sharpness and didn't offer very much in attack. Perhaps most damning of all, the Panamanian side escaped a red card on the night, with two tackles -- one from Renan Addles and the other from Fidel Caesar, both in the first half -- that frankly should have resulted in red cards. The visitors were probably pretty fortunate to only escape with a 4-0 loss.