Club Léon has won the CONCACAF Champions League, defeating a flat Los Angeles FC 1-0 in the second leg of the final to seal a 3-1 aggregate win.
One year after the Seattle Sounders won the CCL, breaking a 13-year run of Liga MX champions, the winner of the region’s premier club competition once again hails from the Mexican top flight.
It’s the first CCL title for Léon, which defeated LAFC 2-1 on Thursday at the Estadio Léon in a game Steve Cherundolo admitted his side was lucky to only lose by one goal.
LAFC anticipated a much improved display in the second leg at BMO Stadium on Sunday, but instead it was more of the same for the MLS champions.
Looking to shake things up, Cherundolo opted to try out a new formation in a rather big spot. The LAFC coach shifted away from his typical 4-3-3 in favor of a 5-3-2 setup.
LAFC fell behind after 20 minutes, and the 5-3-2 may have been at least partly to blame. Léon right back Iván Moreno found a ton of space on the right flank with Diego Palacios pushed way up the field in a wingback position.
Moreno’s cross was met by Lucas Di Yorio, who did not get ideal contact on his strike but still managed to beat John McCarthy.
LEÓN SCORES FIRST 😤@clubleonfc goes back up by two on aggregate! pic.twitter.com/ERLHnpmgLa
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 5, 2023
Admitting his mistake, Cherundolo made two halftime subs and went back to the 4-3-3.
But LAFC was slow to respond with the kind of performance that was expected of them going into the final, failing to generate many chances that could trouble Léon goalkeeper Rodolfo Cota.
LAFC didn’t show any real urgency until the final 10 minutes, creating a number of chances that either ended with the wrong decision being made or a finish that wasn’t up to standard.
It was a disappointing end for LAFC, which won MLS Cup in 2022 and entered the CCL looking like one of the favorites. Léon was, however, the only Mexican team LAFC played in the knockout round, having previously defeated Costa Rican opposition and two MLS sides en route to the final.
[lawrence-related id=20879,17622,13595]