MEXICO: Andre-Pierre Gignac scored twice as Mexico's Tigres UANL booked their place in the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Champions League on Thursday with a 5-0 thrashing of Honduran club Motagua.

Former France international striker Gignac scored a goal in each half to set Tigres on their way to a 6-0 aggregate victory at the Estadio Universitario in Monterrey. Tigres, winners of the competition in 2020, will play fellow Liga-MX side Leon in the last four. The victory extends Tigres' superb recent record in the CONCACAF Champions League, the top regional club competition for teams from Central America, North America and the Caribbean. As well as winning the title three years ago, the club reached the final of the tournament in 2016, 2017 and 2019.

Gignac, scorer of the winning goal in Tigres' victory in the final three years ago, was once again the Mexican side's talisman in Thursday's win. The 37-year-old opened the scoring on 27 minutes, coolly bending a low shot into the bottom corner from just outside the penalty area to put Tigres 2-0 up on aggregate. With Motagua offering little in attack, Tigres were able to patiently wait for openings and made the tie safe midway through the second half with another Gignac strike. From a free-kick near the halfway line, Rafael Carioca caught the Motagua defence napping and lofted a pass to the Frenchman.

Gignac's first touch took him past advancing goalkeeper Jonathan Rougier and he was left with the simplest of finishes into an empty net to make it 2-0.Colombian veteran Luis Quinones made it 3-0 on 83 minutes, bending a left-foot shot into the top corner from the edge of the area. Jesus Angulo added a fourth on 88 minutes before Nicolas Ibanez completed the rout with a fifth goal on the stroke of full-time.

Published in The Daily National Courier, April, 15 2023

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