CONCACAF Champions League Final: LAFC vs Tigres – Preview
Club Champions of Concacaf, Club World Cup ticket, and the first international title for either club is all on the line tonight as LAFC and Tigres U.A.N.L. play in the CONCACAF Champions League Final.
LAFC comes off a thrilling, and probably their most important, victory of the club’s young existence as they defeated Club America 3-1 in the semifinal round with a dazzling 90 seconds from our Mextranjero Carlos Vela who scored two goals in those 90 seconds to turn the game around .
Tigres on the other hand easily defeated Olimpia 3-0, with two goals also from their star forward André-Pierre Gignac, in this way, punching their ticket to another CONCACAF Champions League Final for Los Felinos.
Slim Chance for LAFC
When the brackets were set for the knockout stages, many analysts gave the team from Los Angeles very little if any chance of winning this tournament or even making it this far. Their road to the final was to likely go through giants such as Leon, Cruz Azul, and Club America.
That was exactly how it played out for the black and gold. As they became the only MLS team to defeat three Liga MX team’s in a single tournament.
All three games against the Liga MX sides, LAFC was able to provide stunning comeback performances down in those matchups. Now LAFC is 90 minutes away from possibly being only the 3rd MLS team to lift the continental trophy. They would also be the first MLS team to lift it in the new format.
A big task on their hands for the Angelino team, as they also try to match what the other professional sports teams in Los Angeles like the Lakers and Dodgers did this year. That is to bring a championship trophy to the city of Los Angeles.
From “Equipo Chico” to “Grande De CONCACAF”?
As dominant as Tigres has been in Liga MX the past decade, many Liga MX fans continue to not respect the felinos and their fans. One of the reasons is the team has yet to add an international trophy to their shelf, and tonight they get another crack at it.
Tigres has had their fair share of opportunities to add the silverware of the Concacaf Champions League. In fact they have made it to the final stage of the tournament ,including this one, in now 3 out of the last 4 tournaments. The latest of which probably stung the most as they lost to their crosstown rivals Rayados de Monterrey in 2019 with a 2-1 aggregate score.
Will this finally be the year for El Tuca Ferreti, André-Pierre Gignac and company get over the hump and add that illusive international trophy that has been missing in their case.
If so Tigres fans can potentially put to bed those “equipo chico” (small team) jokes and take their place amongst the top teams by crowning themselves as “El Grande de Concacaf” (The big one of CONCACAF). Well, at least for a year right?!
Don’t miss this amazing matchup between LAFC and Tigres as kickoff is set for 10 PM ET/ 7 PM PT and available to watch on Fox Sports or TUDN.
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