LOS ANGELES – Carlos Vela was the master of the night at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida. When the LAFC captain was needed most, the Mexican forward appeared to send his team to the first final after beating Club América 3-1 in the semi-final.
LAFC released the race for Major League Soccer teams and will compete against Tigres in the CONCACAF Champions League Grand Final.
“It was a big effort on the part of the players, at half time we felt that we could still win the match, I did not expect that Carlos would have scored two goals so quickly in the second half. But I applaud the mindset of the players, everyone’s commitment, it was great. Today you could see the concentration, we learned from past mistakes, I am very proud of everyone, ”said coach Bob Bradley after the LAFC triumph.
LAFC went to the dressing room and lost 1-0 and 10 men after the expulsion of Eduard Atuesta. Prospects were uphill for the Los Angeles team, but early in the second half, Carlos Vela found two goals in a minute and took advantage of the opponent’s defensive mistakes.
“Carlos is a special player, he is our captain, and what an evening for him,” said the American coach. “For Carlos (Vela) it is special to play against the Mexican clubs, except after the ligament injury he sustained in the MLS tournament, he now wanted to show himself. Not only did he make a difference with today’s goals, but also with his actions on the field, doing those little things that help you manage a game like this.
The party was not without controversy. The arbitration led by Costa Rican whistler Juan Gabriel Calderón left a lot to be desired. Let’s not forget that we don’t have the support of the VAR in this competition.
The game was intense from the start, and offenses that were not scored at the right moments escalated the game to the strokes at half time. An elbow by Diego Palacios went unnoticed and had to be penalized, even in the last part of the first half, a foul in the American area on Eduard Atuesta was not considered a penalty and ended in the Colombian player’s expulsion.
In a provocation between American goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa and Eduard Atuesta, the latter got up from lying on the grass, colliding with Memo. The goalkeeper exaggerated the contact by taking the face, when the contact was in the body, and the flag bearer chose to mark Atuesta’s aggression against Ochoa by showing him the red card.
In the aftermath of such an action, the game remained hot and spread towards halftime. There, LAFC assistant Ante Razov and Águilas coach Miguel Herrera even exchanged a few blows, which resulted in Piojo’s expulsion for the second half.
“I have received many messages from people who have seen the reruns, I have not seen them but they have told me that they did nothing, that Atuesta did nothing and Ochoa started the provocation. It is unfortunate that you have to resort to these things to try to gain an advantage, ”said strategist Bob Bradley. “Before the game, as a group, we talked about you having to be smart, play the game, be precise, not naive, I think the players handled it very well.”
Bob Bradley coached the American team for five years, from 2006 to 2011, while Miguel Herrera did the same with the Mexican team from late 2013 to 2015. The intensity displayed in the game helped the American quarterback to defeat the rivalry between Mexico and the United States. United States.
“It reminded me of those games during my time as a US coach. The games against Mexico were special, the players were motivated by those games, the level was high. There were moments on the field, what happened during halftime, that kind of emotion and passion is reflected in great rivalry and that’s how it felt tonight, ”said Bradley.
LAFC is the first MLS team to beat three Liga MX teams in a single tournament. In the round of 16, they defeated León and in the quarter-finals they defeated Cruz Azul, followed by the Águilas del América in the semi-finals. In the grand final of the international tournament, another Mexican team, Tigres, is measured.
The Los Angeles franchise is only in its third year. Since joining MLS in 2018, he has shown great things; One-time hires, talented young players with a mix of experience elements and a coach like Bob Bradley who implemented a style of play are some of the factors that have made them successful in a short period of time.
After failing to live up to expectations in the local tournament for the past three seasons, LAFC will play its first final in its brief history and will do so in an international tournament.