The start of the regular season is still two weeks away, but four MLS clubs will begin their 2016 campaigns in earnest this week.
D.C. United, the LA Galaxy,Real Salt Lake and the Seattle Sounders will be participating in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League starting on February 23, with each team facing off against a Liga MX team in a two-legged series.
Liga MX is currently in-season, and all four teams that will participating in the quarterfinals had matches this weekend. Here's how they fared:
Club América (opponent: Seattle Sounders)
It was a wild one in Mexico City on Saturday night as Club America faced off against Cruz Azul in the Clasico Joven. Cruz Azul opened the scoring in the third minute but Las Aguilas came back to score three unanswered goals. Chaco Gimenez pulled one back for La Maquina, and that 3-2 lead was put into jeopardy by a controversial Oribe Peralta red card in the 69th minute. Darwin Quintero got a red card of his own in the 83rd minute and Cruz Azul were able to take advantage as Joao Rojas scored a golazo to equalize the score at 3-3.
America now sit in fourth place in the Liga MX table, but more importantly to their CCL campaign, they could be without starting goalkeeper Moises Muñoz and striker Dario Benedetto on Tuesday in Seattle (10 pm ET; FS1/UDN). Both players left the match on Saturday with injuries.
Querétaro (opponent: D.C. United)
In a matchup of two CCL quarterfinalists, Queretaro dropped two points at home to Tigres. Queretaro scored two goals in four minutes to take a 2-1 lead over Tuca Ferretti's squad but were unable to hold on, conceding just two minutes after their second goal. Former Real Salt Lake midfielder Luis Gil entered in the 71st minute, but he was unable to help Los Gallos Blancos find a winner.
Victor Manuel Vucetich's team sits in 13th place after seven games, averaging just one point per game. They will enter their match against D.C. United on Tuesday night (8 pm ET; FS1/UDN) as the Liga MX representative with the worst record.
Santos Laguna (opponent: LA Galaxy)
Santos Laguna have now gone three games without a win after a 1-1 draw at Pumas UNAM. Nestor Calderon provided Santos' only goal with a 41st-minute penalty kick after Daniel Ludueña opened the scoring in the 16th minute.
Santos sit one place outside of Liguilla positioning after collecting 10 points in their first seven games. They will be facing a rebuilt LA Galaxy squad when they take the field in Carson on Wednesday night (10 pm ET; FS1/UDN).
Tigres UANL (opponent: Real Salt Lake)
After a hot start to their Clausura campaign, Tigres have slowed down a bit over their last two games, as they have collected a loss and a draw. Their draw in Queretaro on Friday night was a particular disappointment after they outshot their opponents 23-7. Striker Rafael Sobis should be well-rested when they face Real Salt Lake on Wednesday night (8 pm ET; FS2/UDN) after he missed this game due to a red card in Tigres' previous match.
