By Canadian Press

CF Montreal book ticket to Champions League quarter-finals with dominant 3-0 win

Feb 23, 2022 | 7:32 PM

MONTREAL — CF Montreal delivered a massive statement with an impressive 3-0 win in the second leg round of 16 of the CONCACAF Champions League at the Olympic Stadium against Mexican club Santos Laguna.

They will face the winner of the tie between Mexican side Cruz Azul and the CPL’s Forge FC.

The goal scorers for Montreal were Romell Quioto, Djorde Mihailovic, and Ismael Koné.

After losing the first leg 1-0, Montreal came storming out of the gate with the full force of the home crowd behind them.

It only took 45 seconds for the home side to show their intentions as Lassi Lappalainen got in behind the Santos Laguna defence, forcing a last-ditch interception.

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At the ten-minute mark, the tempo finally broke the Santos defence as Quioto was played in by Joaquin Torres, went around the keeper, and scored from the tightest of angles.

Only twelve minutes after Quioto’s opener, Mihailovic fired a missile from close range after beating two defenders, smashing the ball into the underside of the crossbar, and doubling Montreal’s lead

Montreal continued its dominance as the second half started with another series of chances, forcing two excellent saves from Santos keeper Carlos Acevedo.

The frustration and desperation from Santos began to show as the game got increasingly chippy, prompting the official to book multiple players in an attempt to regain control of the game.

Only minutes later, new signing Koné was through on goal after some brilliant link-up play with Torres but was denied a debut goal.

He only had to wait eight minutes to rectify that when Mihailovic put the ball on a silver platter for Koné in the middle of the box. Koné made no mistake, effectively sealing the tie for Montreal.

CF Montreal will now turn their attention to their MLS season opener in on Feb. 27 when they travel to face Orlando City SC at Exploria Stadium.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 23, 2022.

Elias Grigoriadis, The Canadian Press