He lion The Mexican this Sunday conquered the first CONCACAF Champions League of its history, by reaffirming a 2-1 victory in the first leg with a 1-0 win against Los Angeles FC in the city of California with a goal from Argentine Lucas Di Yorio.
Argentine coach Nicolás Larcamón’s El León returned the CONCACAF Champions League crown to Mexico after the Seattle Sounders ended a 16-game Mexican winning streak last year. ‘La Fiera’ is the thirteenth team from Mexico capable of winning the ‘Concachampions’. LAFC lost in their second final in this tournament, after being denied glory by Tigres in 2020.
The Lion reached the sky in Los Angeles and, with the first international title in its history, will also compete in the Club World Cup as the king of North America.
The surroundings of the Banc of California were colored from the early hours of the afternoon, with a good representation of Mexico and many fans of León, who were also noticed during and, of course, after the game.
LAFC fans greeted their team with a huge banner and the message ‘Pasin na na sila’ (Let’s finish them off) and, amidst the smoke from the flares, the Angelenos came out with everyone. They took control of the ball and, with Vela and Bouanga setting the pace, they created dangers in the Cota area with some good crosses which, however, no one succeeded.
El León knew how to counter the initial momentum and took his first clear opportunity to deal a psychological blow to his rival. Moreno went deep down the right wing and hooked a cross into the center of the area for Di Yorio to make it 1-0. His shot was not clear, but goalkeeper McCarthy was unable to stop it.
León gained confidence and lost it at LAFC. As soon as they scored the first goal, the Mexicans got the ball back and Víctor Dávila was about to widen the gap against a ‘shock’ rival.
Cerundolo shuffled the cards after the break. He chose a defensive line of three in the game, but it did not go as expected and he then gave way to Cifuentes, a midfielder, for Chiellini and went to a line of four. Minute 63 when the American coach made his fifth substitution, taking Vela for Biuk, found León in control of the game.
Los Angeles FC risk six changes
The Mexican team played with quality and felt more and more comfortable on the field. LAFC risked their fifth change, although surprisingly they got a sixth, which was allowed by the regulations (cerebral trauma protocol) after Long suffered and Romero suffered a dangerous blow to the head that leave them lying on the ground.
LAFC, with twenty minutes to play, completely turned to the attack and León, at that moment, agreed to lower their position, lock themselves in defense, and try to exploit the gaps by allowing a speedy winger like Joel Campbell.
That’s when Cota played. The ‘La Fiera’ goalkeeper dominated with a superb save against Opoku Kwadwo in the 79th minute, managing to clear his soft touch on his left foot. He also shone in some good starts and provided great security to his defence. León showed tactical and mental stability, defended himself with order and did not lose his composure even in the ten minutes of extra time ordered by the referee.
Cota stopped a Tillman header in the 93rd minute and the last chance was for Murillo, whose shot went high after a corner kick. LAFC’s dream ended at that moment and the gates of glory opened for Leon.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
