CONCACAF Champions League final
After three unsuccessful tries, Tigres UANL finally got their hands on the Champions League thanks to a comeback win 2-1 over LAFC.
Tigres have made 4 of the 5 last Concacaf Champions League final but losing it in 2016, 2017 and 2019. The best Mexican club over the last 5 years finally wins the trophy it was missing. Gignac, Tigres’ best player in that span scored the winning goal at the 84th minute. The Frenchman is already the best payer ever for Tigres and he outplayed LAFC’s star Carlos Vela in that department. Andre-Pierre Gignac wins also the Golden Boot award with 6 goals in the tournament, one more than Carlos Vela (5).
Missed chances for LAFC
LAFC was in control after a boring first half and got their goal at the 61st minute thanks to Rossi. Then Carlos Vela missed the 2-0 ball a few minutes later. Tigres bended but did not break and got rewarded a corner-kick on a miscommunication from LAFC defense. Ayala raised above everyone else and headed the ball into the net to level the final. Then Tigres was in full force. Gignac crucified the MLS club with a late goal to take the lead at 2-1. This blow was too much for LAFC, losing their first ever final.
LAFC Coach Bradley on the loss:
“We’re very disappointed. I thought for 70 minutes we made the game very hard for them. It’s a choppy game, it’s not always that the football’s perfect, but I thought our way of going after them and pushing the game for 70 minutes was quite good and we have a big chance when Mahala beats the defender and cuts the ball to Carlos to go to 2-0.
We played, we closed down and we pressed them, and when you press a team and they have a difficult time getting forward then obviously a player like Gignac in that period of the game for 70 minutes isn’t able to do much. And then when the game turns around and now they get a little bit more space going forward, then he’s a good player and he can take advantage of it.”
