Paradela Goal Sends Cruz Azul to Quarterfinals | OneFootball

PUEBLA, Mexico – The 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup continued with Cruz Azul playing to a 1-1 draw with CF Monterrey in the Second Leg of their Round of 16 series, winning 4-3 on aggregate, on Tuesday at Estadio Cuauhtémoc in Puebla, Mexico.

After the First Leg finished 3-2 in Cruz Azul’s favor, Monterrey had to come out firing and did just that. Rayados got on the board eight minutes into the match when Jorge Rodríguez unleashed a vicious blast from outside of the box to tie the series 3-3 on aggregate.

Trailing 1-nil at the break, the defending Champions Cup winners started the second half quickly as José Paradela notched the equalizer with a sensational flick off an Omar Campos cross in the 46’.

La Máquina Cementera was able to do enough defensively to hold off their Liga MX counterparts, and advance to the next round to keep its title defense alive. Cruz Azul will play Los Angeles FC in the Quarterfinals in April.

Post– Match Data 

• CF Monterrey have scored in 27 consecutive Concacaf Champions Cup matches (W18 D6 L3). This streak began in April 2019 against Sporting Kansas City (4-0), the same season in which they were crowned champions.

• CF Monterrey avoided defeat in 24 of their last 25 Concacaf Champions Cup matches when scoring first (W19 D5 L1). This run includes three matches against Cruz Azul (W2 D1). Meanwhile, Cruz Azul avoided defeat after conceding first for the first time since 2020 (2-1 vs. Portmore United), following a run of D1 L3 in that scenario.

• Omar Campos recorded his third assist since joining Cruz Azul, all against CF Monterrey: one in Liga MX, one in the first leg, and one in the second leg of this Concacaf Champions Cup series.

• Jorge Rodríguez scored his second Concacaf Champions Cup goal, both from outside the box. Tonight’s strike came from longer distance (30 meters), surpassing his goal against Inter Miami CF in 2024 (22 meters). Since joining Monterrey in January 2024, he has scored four goals from outside the area across all competitions. Only Nelson Deossa (5) and Sergio Canales (14) have more for the club in that span.

• José Paradela scored the equalizer for Cruz Azul and led the team in total shots (7), shots on target (4), duels won (6) and passes in the final third (20) in tonight’s match.