Sporting Kansas City and Club de Futbol Monterrey will meet in the 2019 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League semifinals. Sporting will travel to Mexico for the first leg of the aggregate-goal series on Thursday before hosting the decisive second leg at Children's Mercy Park on April 11 (tickets on sale now). In the buildup to this continental clash, SportingKC.com is providing updates on the Rayados as part of the site’s Monitoring Monterrey series.
After Sporting Kansas City cruised to a 7-1 thrashing of Montreal on Saturday afternoon at Children's Mercy Park, the club's Champions League counterparts appeared to be coasting to a comfortable home win of their own as Monterrey led Cruz Azul 2-0 with 15 minutes remaining at a rain-soaked BBVA Bancomer Stadium on Saturday night thanks to a sensational bicycle kick from Aviles Hurtado on the cusp of halftime and a Cesar Montes header four minutes into the second stanza.