MIAMI – The 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup continues with Cruz Azul hosting CF Monterrey in the Second Leg of their Round of 16 series on Tuesday at Estadio Cuauhtémoc in Puebla, Mexico.

Cruz Azul is coming off a thrilling 3-2 away win in the first leg after a pair of late goals to pull off a rally. Down 2-1 in the final ten minutes of regulation, Gonzalo Piovi leveled it for La Maquina with a penalty kick in the 84’, and Nicolás Ibáñez finished it off with a stunner in the 90’.

Roberto de la Rosa scored both goals for Monterrey and will seek to add to his tally to defeat the reigning Champions Cup winners.

The loss against Cruz Azul snapped an unbeaten record in first leg home matches for Rayados. It also ended a streak of five consecutive home wins, and five straight first leg home clean sheets for the club in the Champions Cup.

The winner of this series on aggregate will advance to the Quarterfinals. Away goals serve as the first tiebreaker. If necessary, extra time and a penalty shootout will be played to decide a winner.

How Have Mexican Clubs Fared After Losing the First Leg at Home?

With CF Monterrey’s 3-2 defeat against Cruz Azul, it marked the ninth time in Concacaf Champions Cup history that a Liga MX club has lost the first leg of a series at home in any stage (excluding the Final). Only Deportivo Oro (vs NY Hungaria, Mar-18-1963) and CF Monterrey managed to score more than one goal (two each) and still lose the match.

History shows that among the eight previous cases, only one club advanced: Deportivo Toluca against CF América in the Semifinals of the 2002-03 edition. After losing 4-1 at Estadio Nemesio Díez on Apr-30-2003, with goals for Club América by Marcelo Lipatín (35’, 63’), Raúl Mendoza (56’), and Cuauhtémoc Blanco (83’), and Édgar González (13’) scoring for Deportivo Toluca, the second leg on May-14-2003 at Estadio Azteca produced one of the most epic comebacks in Concacaf Champions Cup history, as Deportivo Toluca won 4-0 with goals from Édgar Espinoza (69’), Édgar García (72’, 88’), and Emanuel Ruíz (90+2’).

The Seven Eliminations of Mexican Clubs After Losing the First Leg at Home:

• Deportivo Oro vs NY Hungaria in the 1963 First Round (first leg 2-3, second leg 2-2, aggregate 5-4)

• Deportivo Toluca vs CD Olimpia in the 1972 Semifinals (first leg 0-1, second leg 1-1, aggregate 2-1)

• Cruz Azul vs CD Marathón in the 1981 Second Round (first leg 1-3, second leg 1-1, aggregate 4-2)

• Deportivo Toluca vs CF Monterrey in the 2010-11 Quarterfinals (first leg 0-1, second leg 1-0, aggregate 2-0)

• Monarcas Morelia vs CF Monterrey in the 2011-12 Quarterfinals (first leg 1-3, second leg 4-1, aggregate 7-2)

• Club Tijuana vs New York Red Bulls in the 2018 Quarterfinals (first leg 0-2, second leg 3-1, aggregate 5-1)

• Club Guadalajara vs CF América in the 2024 Round of 16 (first leg 0-3, second leg 2-3, aggregate 5-3)

CCC Round of 16 Team Records

Cruz Azul
Penalty shootout appearances: (2). (Loss) (3-5 vs. Deportivo Saprissa in the Quarterfinals of the 1998 edition after a 0-0 draw in a single match). (Win) (4-2 vs. Puerto Rico Islanders in the Semifinals of the 2008-2009 edition after a 3-3 aggregate score: 2-0 and 3-1).
Hat-tricks: (4). Javier Orozco (MEX) vs. Hankook Verdes (Preliminary Round 2008-2009), vs. CS Herediano (Preliminary Round 2009-2010), vs. San Francisco FC (Preliminary Round 2010-2011), vs. Árabe Unido (Matchday 5, Group A of 2010-2011).

Round of 16 appearances: 5 (2020 vs. Portmore United FC, 2021 vs. Arcahaie FC, 2022 vs. Forge FC, 2025 vs. Seattle Sounders FC, 2026 vs. CF Monterrey).
Record in R16 history: GP-9 W-7 D-2 L-0 (GF-25 GA-5).
Top scorers in R16: Juan Escobar (PAR) 2, Lucas Passerini (ARG) 2, Walter Montoya (ARG) 2.

CF Monterrey
Penalty shootout appearances: (1) (Loss). (3-5 vs. Deportivo Saprissa in the Semifinals of the 2004-2005 edition after a 3-3 aggregate score: (2-2 and 1-1).
Hat-tricks: (2). Abrahám Carreño (MEX) vs. CS Herediano (Matchday 2, Group D of 2011-2012), Ángel Reyna (MEX) vs. Chorrillo FC (Matchday 1, Group 7 of 2012-2013).
Round of 16 appearances: 5 (2019 vs. Alianza FC, 2021 vs. Atlético Pantoja, 2024 vs. FC Cincinnati, 2025 vs. Whitecaps FC, 2026 vs. Cruz Azul).
Record in R16 history: GP-9 W-5 D-3 L-1 (GF-15 GA-8).
Top scorers in R16: Roberto de la Rosa (MEX) 3, Brandon Vázquez (USA) 2, Vincent Janssen (NED) 2.