Cruz Azul Crushes Whitecaps 5-0, Wins 7th CONCACAF Title
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By Kaus Pandey
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Summary:
- Cruz Azul marked a 5-0 victory against the Vancouver Whitecaps in the CONCACAF Champions Cup final on Sunday.
- Ángel Sepúlveda scored twice and finished with a total of nine.
- Missing key players, Vancouver couldn’t register a shot on goal, triggering mixed reactions from fans.
Cruz Azul dominated Sunday’s CONCACAF final from start to finish, thrashing the Vancouver Whitecaps 5-0 to claim their seventh Champions Cup title.
The win that now puts them level with Club América for the most titles in the tournament’s history.
Ángel Sepúlveda was once again the star of the show. The 34-year-old forward scored twice, bringing his tournament tally to nine, marking a competition-best.
La Máquina was relentless in the first half, netting four times before the break.
Ignacio Rivero opened the scoring in the seventh minute, Lorenzo Faravelli added a strike off the post, and both Sepúlveda and Mateusz Bogusz chipped in before halftime. Sepúlveda sealed the rout with a header in the 50th minute.
Head Coach Sorensen: “We Leave With Devastation”
The Whitecaps who were unbeaten in 15 games hoped to become the first Canadian club to win the tournament and also the first Major League Soccer side to do so since the Seattle Sounders in 2022. Unfortunately, they were simply overwhelmed.
“We came with hope, aspiration and ambition, of course now we leave with devastation“, said Vancouver head coach Jesper Sorensen, while praising the “great tournament” they played.
We have beaten great teams on the way under tough conditions. But today we couldn’t really put up a good performance to really shake a good team.
The Danish added while acknowledging high-level football is “brutal”.
No Shot on Goal for the Canadiens
All of Cruz Azul’s shots on target in the first half ended in goals. Vancouver, by contrast, failed to register a single shot on goal throughout the entire match. Cruz Azul’s Kevin Mier notched his fourth clean sheet of the competition.
The Whitecaps were missing key players, with Sebastian Berhalter being suspended for yellow card accumulation, and captain Ryan Gauld still recovering from a knee injury.
Cruz Azul reached the final after a hard-fought semifinal win over Tigres.
Back in Vancouver, the packed outdoor watch party, which started with high hopes, quickly turned somber as the goals began to pile on during the side’s first encounter with La Máquina.
As expected, reactions online were mixed. While some fans praised the Whitecaps’ impressive tournament run, others voiced their frustration.
Will Vancouver be able to pick themselves up for the rest of the MLS season or will this defeat have a impact going ahead… Get the best soccer odds ahead of the action right here.
