WATCH: Chivas Edges Red Bulls in CCL Semifinal 1st Leg on Brizuela goal
Chivas beat the New York Red Bulls 1-0 in the first leg of their Concacaf Champions League semifinal matchup and for a game light on goals, this game had plenty of fireworks.
The only goal of the game came from a bad giveaway in the center of the field, as Isaac Brizuela took advantage of some lax defending from the Red Bulls to slot one past a sprawling Luis Robles.
The remainder of the game was mainly defined by hard fouls between both teams as tempers flared on both sides.
Aurelien Collin picked up his second yellow card and was sent off in the 73rd minute, allowing Chivas to really amp up the pressure.
Bradley Wright-Phillips came close to equalizing for the Red Bulls in the 79th minute, as his run and some solid footwork saw him go one-on-one with Chivas goalkeeper Rodolfo Cota, but his attempt was acrobatically stifled to keep the scoreline at 1-0.
Tempers then reached a fever pitch in the 85th minute when a Chivas player grabbed a Red Bulls player and continued to hold him until a foul was called. A scrum immediately broke out and another Chivas player appeared to choke Sean Davis until he was swiftly pushed away. No punishment resulted for the guilty player.
Just as it appeared that the referee had lost his grip on the match, things began to settle and the final few minutes played out with little fanfare.
The result sees the Red Bulls in need of at least a two-goal win in the second leg on April 10 at Red Bull Arena to advance to the Concacaf Champions League final.
In the other semifinal, Toronto FC leads Club America 3-1 heading into the second leg in Mexico.
