Luis Robles played the game of his career in CONCACAF Champions League, making a career-high 13 saves in the first leg of the quarterfinals versus Club Tijuana.
New York’s captain kept a shutout as the Red Bulls take a 2-0 advantage on away goals into the second leg at Red Bull Arena.
“Luis made save after save after save,” head coach Jesse Marsch said. “He’s a great goalie and we know he’s capable of that. We see it every week.
“It wasn’t just the saves, it was the poise under pressure. The poise that he set the tone for our team to not panic. Luis was fantastic.”
The Red Bulls’ 2-0 win over Tijuana was just the third time in CONCACAF Champions League history that an MLS team has won a game in Mexico.
The win broke a 21-match winless streak for MLS teams in Mexico, dating back to 2011.
“One of the messages Jesse [Marsch] told us before the game, was to keep composed,” Luis Robles said. “There were going to be moments where the crowd was going to be into it…but if we could find a way to stay disciplined, to stay calm, to encourage one another, that we were going to see this out – and that’s exactly happened tonight.”
Robles knew it would be a “hostile affair” at Estadio Caliente, but praised a complete team effort for the win in Mexico.
“When you look at tonight, it’s one of those things where everyone has to do their job, and when you look at the performance the result, everyone did their job,” Robles said. “Our locker room is very satisfied right now. But we know the job is not done.”
