Toluca vs. Sporting Kansas City - Game HighlightsHighlights: Watch the goals of @SportingKC's historic 2-0 victory in Mexico against @TolucaFC #SCCL2019
Posted by Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League on Thursday, February 28, 2019
Sporting Kansas City put the finishing touches on an impressive and comprehensive Concacaf Champions League Round of 16 series, defeating 10-man Toluca, 2-0, at Estadio Nemesio Diez Thursday night.
Sporting, which took a commanding 3-0 lead after the first leg at Children’s Mercy Park, won 5-0 on aggregate goals and advanced to the quarterfinals where they will face Independiente, the Panamanian side that ousted Toronto FC, 5-1 on aggregate.
Gerso, who was so influential in the opening leg, got SKC a big away goal inside of the opening 10 minutes to deflate the home side. He latched onto a long cross from Roger Espinoza, cut inside of a Toluca defender and slotted past onrushing goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera.
Krisztian Nemeth made it 2-0 from the penalty spot in the 62nd minute, slipping his attempt under the crossbar after he was pulled back by Adrian Mora inside the box, resulting in a straight red card to the Toluca defender.
The frustrated Toluca fanbase, who have watched their team fall to 15th in the Liga MX table, then turned on their team. They chanted “ole” on every completed SKC pass and whistled when Toluca tried to possess the ball.
Goals
- 8’ — SKC — Gerso (Roger Espinoza)
- 62’ — SKC — Krisztian Nemeth (PK)
Lineups
Sporting Kansas City (4-3-3): Tim Melia -- Graham Zusi, Andreu Fontas, Matt Besler, Seth Sinovic -- Ilie Sanchez, Roger Espinoza, Felipe Gutierrez (Kelyn Rowe 70') -- Johnny Russell (Daniel Salloi 66'), Krisztian Nemeth (Erik Hurtado 73'), Gerso Fernandes
Deportivo Toluca FC (4-4-2): Alfredo Talavera -- Rodrigo Salinas, Adrian Mora, Jonatan Maidana, Osvaldo Gonzalez -- Pablo Barrientos (Brian Rubio 72'), Antonio Rios, Alan Medina, Ivan Acero -- Emmanuel Gigliotti (Santiago Garcia 64'), Diego Abella (Luis Mendoza 46')
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: Sporting did all the heavy lifting at home last week and just needed Gerso’s early goal to make things official and become the fourth MLS team to reach the quarterfinals and fifth to win a CCL match in Mexico.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: Gerso made sure reeling Toluca didn't gain any momentum, taking a sensational cross from Espinoza and scoring his second goal of the series.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: As was the case in the opening leg, Gerso was the man. He had two of Sporting’s five goals across both matches and helped set up Nemeth’s opening salvo a week ago.
Next Up
- SKC: Sunday, March 3 at LAFC (8:30 pm ET | ESPN, WatchESPN, MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada)
