‘Taty’ Castellanos leads NYCFC’s CONCACAF Champions League win
The Argentine striker scored his third goal of the competition to help the 2021 MLS Cup champions defeat Comunicaciones FC in the first leg of the campaign.
New York City FC are keen to keep adding silverware to their trophy cabinet after winning the MLS Cup last season and they have the opportunity to win an international competition. On Tuesday night they defeated Comunicaciones FC 3-1 in the first leg of the quarter-finals of their CONCACAF Champions League series at Rentschler Field in East Hartford.
Castellanos keeps being an offensive threat
The 2021 MVP in Major League Soccer scored his third goal of the continental campaign with a header to the near-post after a great cross from Santiago Rodríguez. This goal gave NYCFC the lead before the break and the Guatemalan side would find the equalizer when Manuel Gambia found the back of the net following a corner kick that New York failed to clear.
The home side would bounce back very quickly because in the 65th minute Maxi Moralez volleyed the ball to beat the goalkeeper. Six minutes later the New York-based team would make it 3-1 thanks to a precise finish inside the box from Santiago Rodríguez, who had a goal and an assist after the 90 minutes.
Valentín ‘Taty’ Castellanos was voted the Man of the Match with his goal and his constant threat on offense. The Argentine striker had a couple of clear shots on target that were blocked by the goalkeeper from Comunicaciones FC. NYCFC has a short week ahead of them because on Saturday they host Montréal for week 3 of the MLS regular season and three days later they travel to Guatemala for the second leg of the quarter-finals.