LOS ANGELES – Carlos Vela was the master of the night at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida. When the LAFC captain was most needed, the Mexican striker appeared to send his team to their first final after defeating Club América 3-1 in the semifinals.
LAFC brought the race for the Major League football teams and will face Tigres in the grand final of the CONCACAF Champions League.
“It was a great effort on the part of the players, at the break I felt that we could still win the game, I did not expect that so soon in the second half Carlos would have already scored two goals. But I applaud the mentality of the players, everyone’s effort was wonderful. Today you could see the concentration, I learned from the mistakes of the past, I am very proud of everyone “, shared the coach Bob Bradley after the LAFC triumph.
LAFC went to the locker room losing 1-0 and 10 men after the expulsion of Eduard Atuesta. The prospect was uplifting for the Los Angeles team, but at the start of the second half, Carlos Vela found two goals in just one minute, taking advantage of the opponent’s defensive errors.
“Carlos is a special player, he is our captain and what a night for him,” said the American coach. “For Carlos (Vela), it is special to face the Mexican clubs, besides the fact that, after the injury of the ligament suffered in the MLS tournament, he wanted to show himself now. He made a difference for us not only with his goals today, 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 referee showed Costa Rica’s Juan Gabriel Calderón the whistle that blew the whistle. Let’s remember that in this competition we do not have the support of VAR.
The game was intense from the beginning and the mistakes that were not marked in the right moments, allowed the game to escalate to shots at the break. A corner kick from Diego Palacios went unnoticed by the keeper, but the keeper deflected Eduard Atuesta’s shot.
In a challenge between the American goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa and Eduard Atuesta, the latter got up from bed on the grass and collided 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 attempted aggression against Ochoa by showing him the red card.
Following such an action, things remained hot in the game and spread to the break. There, LAFC assistant Ante Razov and Águilas’s coach, Miguel Herrera, even exchanged a few shots, which led to Piojo’s expulsion for the second half.
“I received many messages from people who saw the replays, I did not see them, but they told me that they did nothing, that Atuesta did nothing and Ochoa started the challenge. It’s unfortunate that you have to use these things to get an advantage, “said strategist Bob Bradley.” We talked about it as a group before the game, that you have to be smart, play the game, be precise. don’t be naive, I think the players did very well. “
Bob Bradley coached the United States for five years, from 2006 to 2011, while Miguel Herrera did the same with the Mexican team from late 2013 to 2015. The intensity shown in the game made the American strategist to remember rivalries between Mexico and the United States.
“It reminded me of those games during the 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 at the break, that kind of emotions and passions are manifested in great rivalries and it felt like that tonight, “said Bradley.
LAFC is the first MLS team to beat three MX League teams in a single tournament. In the round of 16 they defeated León and in the quarterfinals they defeated Cruz Azul, followed by Águilas del América in the semifinals. In the grand final of the international tournament, another Mexican team, Tigres, will be measured.
The Los Angeles franchise is only in its third year. Since joining MLS in 2018, he has shown great things; Unique employments, talented young players with a combination of experience and a coach like Bob Bradley who has implemented a style of play are some of the factors that made him successful in a short time.
After lowering expectations from the local tournament in the last three seasons, LAFC will play the first final in its short history and make it to an international tournament.