TEGUCIGALPA – It should be a classic confrontation in the first leg of the 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf League semifinals when Honduran rivals Olimpia and Motagua tangle on Wednesday night at the Estadio Chelato Ucles in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
It marks the second time in history that these two storied sides have squared off in the SCL, the first being a quarterfinal match-up in the 2020 edition that saw Olimpia earn a 2-0 victory.
This time around, it will be a two-legged series and promises to be 180 minutes of scintillating football between 2017 champions Olimpia and three-time runners-up Motagua.
Not only are these the two winningest teams in SCL history with 14 victories each, but they also are the highest scoring sides with 48 goals to Olimpia and 42 for Motagua.
Motagua will serve as the home side on Wednesday and will be turning to the likes of Eddie Hernandez, Roberto Moreira and Marcelo Pereira to get a good first leg result.
Hernandez, a former Olimpia player, has a goal in this year’s edition, while Moreira has three goals in four matches against Olimpia in 2022.
Meanwhile, the experienced Pereira has 24 SCL matches under his belt and has been razor-sharp in the 2022 SCL, completing 95 percent of all his passes.
Olimpia counter with an elite list of playmakers, among them Michaell Chirinos, who has six goals and seven assists in his SCL career. There is also striker Jerry Bengtson, owner of two goals in the 2022 SCL and six scores in his last 18 games versus Motagua.
A lot of eyes will also be on Juan Pablo Montes. A former captain of Motagua, Montes is only one of two players who has three career goals in the SCL semifinals, all of them coming as a member of Motagua.
With so much familiarity between the two sides, an exciting 90 minutes can be expected on Wednesday.
FC Motagua vs CD Olimpia
Referee: Mario Escobar (GUA)
AR1 Juan Carlos Mora (CRC) AR2 Caleb Wales (TRI)
4th Official: Walter Lopez (GUA)
Game Notes FC Motagua vs CD Olimpia