VISIT THE FC DALLAS CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE HEADQUARTERS
We’ve reached the halfway mark of the CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage, and FC Dallas sits on top of Group C with a three-point advantage over second place Pumas UNAM. The Mexican club has vaulted from last to second with a dominating win over Toronto FC last week, making Wednesday’s match between the two top sides at Pizza Hut Park pivotal toward advancing to the knockout round.
PURCHASE TICKETS: FC Dallas vs. Pumas UNAM, Wed., September 21 at 7 p.m.
Now that FC Dallas has faced all three opponents, accumulating two wins and one draw, they should have a better understanding of each opponent’s strengths and weaknesses as they prepare for the second legs of each series.
Tauro FC (Panama City, Panama)
A slow start from Tauro FC has left them at the bottom of the table with just two points through three matches. The Panamanian league leaders lost a home game to Toronto and followed that up with a scoreless home tie with Pumas. The team scratched out a second draw at FC Dallas and now sits on two points at the bottom of Group C.
RECAP: FC Dallas 1, Tauro FC 1
Toronto FC (Toronto, Ontario)
Toronto FC started out the Group Stage with an important 2-1 road victory over Tauro. But the Canadian squad followed that up with consecutive shutout losses, falling to FCD 1-0 and getting thrashed by Pumas 4-0. Their lone win has stood up to keep them out of last place, but they’ll need a result against Tauro this week if they want to keep their hopes of advancing out of the Group Stage alive.
RECAP: Toronto FC 0, FC Dallas 1
Pumas UNAM (Mexico City. Mexico)
Pumas were the early favorites to win Group C, but they’re playing from behind after losing a historic match to FC Dallas on their home soil. It looked like the Mexican side would be an early disappointment in the tournament after their 0-0 tie with Tauro FC, but their dominating win over Toronto put them right back in contention for first place in the group.
RECAP: Pumas UNAM 0, FC Dallas 1
WATCH: Brek Shea
FC Dallas (Frisco, Texas)
Dallas’s strong backline finally returned in full for the first time in over a month in their latest Group Stage match. Unfortunately, Tauro FC was able to exploit the unit’s time away from each other with their athletic forwards, while
Zach Loyd
,
George John
,
Ugo Ihemelu
and
Jair Benitez
readjusted to playing together again.
The defensive unit will be broken up again in this week’s game, as starting outside backs Loyd and Benitez will have to sit out due to yellow card accumulation.
The match against Pumas will play a large part in determining who will win Group C. An FC Dallas win will give them 10 points and guarantee them one of the top two spots in the group. A draw against Pumas would still allow Dallas to retain sole possession of first place, but a loss would have the clubs tied in points, with Pumas getting the first-place edge on goal differential.
PURCHASE TICKETS: FC Dallas vs. Pumas UNAM, Wed., September 21 at 7 p.m.
Dallas does have one thing working in its favor – the return of dangerous midfielder
Brek Shea
, who could boost the wing play for FC Dallas and provide the offensive threat the team has been needing. Dallas has only generated more than two goals in a game three times across all competitions since the end of July.
An exciting second half of Group Stage action should be in store for Group C, and FC Dallas is in good position to control their own destiny and advance to the tournament quarterfinals.
