Honduran club Marathón beats Alianza 2-1 in Champions Cup play-in first leg
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The gist
CD Marathón beat Alianza FC 2-1 in the first leg of their 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup play-in series.
The winner of the October 27 second leg in El Salvador advances.
Background
CD Marathón is a Honduran club coached by Silvio Rudman; Alianza FC is a Salvadoran club now led by Argentine coach Diego Vázquez, who took over after the departure of his compatriot Roberto Pompei. The two-leg Play-In (repechaje) of the 2026 Concacaf Central American Cup decides a place in the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup, the region's top club competition. The teams already split their group-stage meetings this edition, Alianza winning 1-0 and Marathón winning 1-0, and their rivalry dates back to the 1986 Concacaf Champions Cup, when Marathón was eliminated on away goals.
How it unfolded
- 1986In the 1986 Concacaf Champions Cup, Marathón was eliminated on the away-goals rule after Alianza won 1-0 in Honduras and lost 3-2 at home.
- Aug 19, 2026Alianza beat Marathón 1-0 in San Pedro Sula in the group stage of the Central American Cup, with a goal from Matías Mier.
- Aug 27, 2026Marathón beat Alianza 1-0 in the return group meeting, with a goal from Ángel Tejeda.
- Oct 20, 2026In the Play-In first leg, Harold Osorio headed Alianza ahead in the 5th minute from a Matías Mier corner, but Nicolás Messiniti equalized in the 15th and Damián Ramírez put Marathón ahead in the 22nd for a 2-1 win.
- Oct 27, 2026Alianza will host Marathón in the second leg, with the series winner securing a spot in the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- Concacaf reported that Messiniti and Ramírez scored the goals in Marathón's 2-1 first-leg win.
- Analysts
- La Prensa framed the tie as Marathón seeking a Champions Cup ticket, with both clubs still able to compete for the last two Central American spots for 2027.
- Analysts
- El Gráfico reported that Alianza traveled to Honduras to open the series and that Marathón was seeking revenge for the group-stage loss.
Still unverified
Sources disagree on the first leg's venue, naming the Estadio Yankel Rosenthal, the Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, the Estadio Francisco Morazán and the Olímpico Mario "Cofra" Caballero, all in San Pedro Sula. Sources also disagree on the date of Alianza's earlier 1-0 win (August 19 vs August 20) and of Marathón's 1-0 win (August 27, 2026 vs August 2024).