The MLS regular season hasn’t yet begun, but the Portland Timbers’ 2021 is already off to a strong start as the team emphatically pushed its way into the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League, Portland’s best-ever showing in the tournament.
With a Yimmi Chara hat trick Tuesday, the Timbers pummeled Honduran side CD Marathón 5-0 in front of a small crowd of socially distanced fans at Providence Park in the second leg of the Champions League home-and-away series. After drawing in Honduras last week, the Timbers now advance to the quarterfinal round on a 7-2 aggregate score.
“We are excited today that we are able to move forward (in the Champions League),” coach Giovanni Savarese said. “We’re excited as well that we did it in front of our fans — not full capacity, but a good percentage to cheer us on and allow us to enjoy this day.”
The Timbers opened scoring in the 18th minute on a breakneck-fast counterattack. Dairon Asprilla flicked the ball over a defender’s head in the Timbers’ own half and raced up the left flank onto the ball. Once he arrived in the box, Asprilla fired a low cross that deflected to the feet of Diego Valeri, who laid it off for a late-arriving Chara to strike.
In the 36th minute, Asprilla and Chara combined for a bit of magic again. From the left channel, Asprilla fired a low, bouncing pass into the box, which Chara finished coolly with a one-time strike.
Valeri padded the Timbers’ lead in the 66th minute, firing a skipping one-time strike through traffic. New fullback Josecarlos Van Rankin, who fed Valeri from the right, earned the assist.
“When we scored the third goal, that was the moment in which we felt we have this game,” Savarese said.
Chara completed his hat trick in the 79th minute, pouncing on a ball spilled by Marathón goalkeeper Denovan Torres. Chara is only the second Timbers player to earn a hat trick since the club joined MLS. The first was Frederic Piquionne in 2013 during a U.S. Open Cup game.
Marvin Loria added a fifth goal in the 89th minute off another counterattack with an assist from Cristhian Paredes.
Early on, Marathón pushed for a quick equalizer, hoping to match their comeback in last week’s first leg, when they equalized twice within 10 minutes of the Timbers pulling ahead to finish 2-2. But Marathón struggled to get into Tuesday’s game.
They had at least three good scoring chances in the first half, including one that required a goal-line clearance from Timbers defender Dario Zuparic right before the halftime whistle. Timbers goalkeeper Steve Clark was caught out of goal, and Marathón striker Kervin Arriaga fired a close-range shot that Zuparic stopped.
Asprilla was similarly denied by a heroic goal-line stop in the 60th minute. On another counter, Valeri crossed a ball for a late-arriving Asprilla, but Marathón defender Mathias Techera stuck a foot out to stop it.
Although Asprilla has struggled with production during the Timbers’ regular seasons, he has often enjoyed breakout performances in knockout games, as was again the case Tuesday. Asked about the winger’s performance, Savarese offered high praise.
“He took advantage of his speed, he went in behind their right back, (Wilmer) Crisanto, and he handled that side very well in making sure he was able to put in good crosses and be dangerous,” Savarese said.
The Timbers were again without Jeremy Ebobisse, who has a hamstring injury. Andy Polo was not with the team due to green card issues.
Both Sebastian Blanco and Jaroslaw Niezgoda remain out with ACL tears they sustained during games last year. The club had teased Blanco could make his return against Marathón, but he was not on the bench Tuesday.
This is the Timbers’ third appearance in the CONCACAF Champions League, and their first since 2017. In both previous runs, the Timbers were knocked out in the group stage, but this year’s iteration does not have a group stage, starting with a round of 16.
By reaching the quarterfinals, the Timbers are in the midst of their best-ever Champions League run, despite the differing format. Historically MLS teams have struggled in the CONCACAF Champions League, and a team from Mexico’s Liga MX has won every year since the modern era of the tournament began in 2008.
The Timbers earned a Champions League spot last summer when they won the MLS is Back tournament, a one-off tournament to resume MLS play during the pandemic. There, the Timbers went unbeaten through a seven-game gauntlet.
Tuesday’s match was the Timbers’ first with fans in more than a year, when they hosted Nashville SC to a sellout crowd on March 8, 2020. Typically, attendance for CONCACAF Champions League games is well below regular-season attendance, but due to local health restrictions, Providence Park has to scale back its capacity anyway. The Timbers declined to share Tuesday’s attendance number.
The Thorns were the first team to host fans at Providence Park since the pandemic arrived in Portland, playing an explosive NWSL Challenge Cup opener Friday with fans against Kansas City.
“We kept on saying how much we miss our fans, but it’s not until the moment they are back,” Savarese said of realizing just how much everyone has missed the fan support. “They were so loud, they were so passionate, they supported us through the entire match. They enjoyed this result as much as we did and having them back was such a good feeling.”
Tuesday also marked a special anniversary for the Timbers: It was the date that, 10 years earlier, the club signed Diego Chara, the brother of Yimmi. Diego Chara holds the club record in appearances across all competitions at 319.
The CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal round will begin later this month and, by then, the MLS regular season will have begun. The Timbers will face either Mexico’s Club América or Honduran side CD Olimpia.
“Of course, our hope is to try to go all the way, but we know that we have to make sure we take it one game at a time,” Savarese said. “The important part was to qualify to the next step, which the guys worked very hard to obtain. Now we will prepare for the next match.”
Up next, the Timbers’ regular season kicks off April 18 against the Vancouver Whitecaps, who will host their game in Utah due to COVID-related travel restrictions between the U.S. and Canada.
-- Caitlin Murray for The Oregonian/OregonLive
Twitter: @caitlinmurr
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