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TORONTO – While the Reds refuse to look beyond Tuesday night’s return leg, the visiting Colorado Rapids appear to have their sights set on Major League Soccer’s opening weekends.

The visitors might as well have been carrying a white flag when they arrived here Sunday on the back of a 2-0 (first leg) Champions League loss last week in Denver.

Rapids bench boss Anthony Hudson repeated last week’s pre-game speech ahead of Tuesday night’s Round of 16 decider: That his side is very much in pre-season mode.

“It was an example last week where we played a very strong team, which is the benchmark, really, who’d prepared at altitude for quite some period in pre-season,” Hudson told his club’s official website. “We haven’t prepared at altitude. When we went into the (first leg) … I was unsure how we’d cope with the altitude.

“We need more sessions, more games in altitude, in Denver,” he explained. “So once we get back from Toronto we’re going to have a good amount of time before (opening the regular season).”