LAFC is headed to the CONCACAF Champions League final.
The Western Conference giants triumphed 3-0 over the Philadelphia Union in the second leg of their semi-final series, as goals by Denis Bouanga, Timothy Tillman and Kwadwo Opoku secured the coveted spot in the final.
It will now be a North American showdown, as LAFC faces a Liga MX team. tHEY will know who they’ll face come June following Leon-Tigres late Wednesday night, where Tigres hold a 2-1 lead after the first leg.
This is LAFC’s second ever CCL final appearance after falling to Tigres 2-1 the 2020 final. However, LAFC hope to be the second straight MLS side to capture the coveted trophy after the Seattle Sounders did so last season.
“We are ecstatic to be in the final of this competition,” LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo said. “It’s a competition that was the highlight on our calendar, as well as MLS for sure, in the first half of the season. So far we’ve accomplished the goals that we’ve set for ourselves. There’s one more to go.”
Despite the dominant victory, LAFC remain focused on the task at hand: bringing home silverware to their supporters.
“I can share with you that the atmosphere in the locker room right now is obviously a happy one, but also a focused one and a hungry one. This team wants to win a final now. We will watch with a close and tentative eye tomorrow who our opponent will be and do our homework and get the group ready,” Cherundolo stated.
Cherundolo commended the Sounders for winning the CCL last season, labelling their triumph over Liga MX’s Pumas as “very disciplined” and in a “hard-fought manner.” The LAFC boss hopes that his side will do the same.
The Black and Gold don’t have a prefence for who they’d like to face in the final but they will respect their opponent: “We respect, obviously, our opponent, whether it’s Tigres or León, greatly,” Cherundolo said. “They’re both fantastic teams and it would be extremely difficult to beat either one of them.
“One thing I can guarantee you is our players will do everything in their power to win a trophy because they like it and they would like to make it happen here at LAFC.”
