Carlos Vela scores twice as LAFC blanks Vancouver to advance in CONCACAF Champions League
Since LAFC entered MLS six years ago, no team has won more games, gathered more points, scored more goals or captured more titles. It’s been a master class in how to take a franchise from concept to champion.
But there’s still one major piece of hardware missing from the team’s trophy case: the cup that goes to the winner of the region’s most important club competition.
LAFC took a big step toward filling that hole Tuesday, advancing to the Final Four of the CONCACAF Champions League with a 3-0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps. The result gave LAFC a 6-0 aggregate-goal victory in the two-leg home-and-away playoff and sends the team (7-1-2 in all competition) on to the tournament semifinals later this month, where it will meet the winner of the Philadelphia Union-Atlas quarterfinal. The Union leads that series 1-0 heading into Wednesday’s second leg in Guadalajara.
“Our objective tonight was to advance into the next round. We’re happy with that,” LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo said. “I’m also happy and pleased with the performance. I’m pleased with the progression of the team.
“It’s a competition we really want to continue in. If we have a chance to win, we would love that. But the semifinals will be very tough. All the teams left in the tournament are quite strong. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”
LAFC has gotten this far once before, reaching the CCL final in 2020 before losing to Mexico’s Tigres UANL. Liga MX clubs had won 16 consecutive CCL titles before the Seattle Sounders ended that streak last season and with the way LAFC is playing, the title just might stay in MLS.
Tuesday’s performance was another dominant one for the Black and Gold, which has outscored its two CCL opponents 10-2 in four games, collecting at least three goals in three of those matches while posting three shutouts.
Goalkeeper John McCarthy made six saves against Vancouver, giving LAFC four consecutive clean sheets. The team has given up just one goal in all competition since March 15 and just five in 10 games all season.
LAFC’s scores against Vancouver came from Carlos Vela, who had two in the first half, and José Cifuentes, who had the only goal of the second half.
Vela put his team in front to stay in the eighth minute when he converted a penalty kick won by Denis Bouanga, who was taken down on the edge of the six-yard box by Vancouver’s Ryan Raposo. The captain doubled the lead in the 31st minute, cutting between two defenders to get on the end of an Ilie Sánchez pass before finishing with a left-footed shot from the center of the penalty area.
The two goals gave Vela eight in nine CCL matches all time.
Cifuentes then sealed the win in the 65th minute, taking a pass at the top of box, faking to his right to create space, then going the other way and caroming a left-footed shot off the near post and across the goal into the side netting behind the right post.
Bouanga got the assist on that score, his fourth of the year to go with 11 goals in all competition.
Before the quarterfinals, Vancouver coach Vanni Sartini called LAFC the best team in North America. He saw nothing Tuesday to change his mind.
“They’re a very good team,” he said. “Having great players for sure help them, but I’m impressed by how they’re humble and they’re disciplined when they defend, because sometimes they have to defend. So hats off to Steve and his staff, because they have done a great job.”
Cherundolo pushed the compliments aside. The tournament, he said, isn’t over yet.
“The best team in CONCACAF is the one that wins the [final]. And no one’s won that yet,” he said. “Right now it’s Seattle because they won it last year. We still have a lot of work to do.
“It’s important not to look back at what we’ve done and always look forward and keep trying to improve. Because the reality is we still can improve.”
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
