Finally… LAFC has come BACK… to the Champions League! Crashing through the door like Stone Cold entering the ring, the boys in Black and Gold looked to make a statement against another Liga MX opponent, and, as we said on the pod several times… “Oh! What a night!”
LAFC looked to exercise several sets of demons as they took on Cruz Azul in Orlando. The 2020 MLS season. The Covid Cup experience in Orlando. Heck, even the moniker of not being able to win games that matter. Those demons got way more exercise than Scarf has these past 9 months. LAFC is now the torchbearer for MLS in the 2020 edition of CONCACAF Champions League.
It didn’t look good for the boys just 14 minutes in, as an early PK put La Máquina up 1-0. But from there on out, Cruz Azul put on a pair of cement boots. LAFC held their opponents to just one shot on target for the entire match, Carlos Vela struck first for LAFC after drawing a PK. With the score level in the winner-take-all match, LAFC began to re-assert themselves in the second half. It would be Mahala Opoku in the 58’, not third DP Brian Rodriguez, who would be the first off the bench for LAFC, taking the place of Danny Musovski. It would take just a dozen minutes for Mahala to play the role of game-changer for LAFC, slotting a beautiful one-timer past Cruz Azul’s backup keeper and putting LAFC up for good, 2-1.
The stars of the show, however, had to be the stellar backline. A combination of Chiqui, Segura, Murillo, Blackmon, and El-Munir shut down any semblance of an attack from the Liga MX side, and just like that, LAFC moves on to the semi-final as the lone MLS side remaining in the tournament.
On this episode, you’ll hear everything you expect from the Defenders of the Banc. Our “Wait, What?!” moment comes rather early in the episode, as Cruz Azul seems to have omitted their best attacker! We miss Lee Nguyen a little on This Day In LAFC History while we help Marco Farfan change from forest green to black and gold. You’ll hear how right Filly got certain predictions while also getting a rant from… the Scarf?! Yup, Scarf sounds off on this one, with the little voice that remains towards the end of the episode.
It’s a date with Club America in the semis on Saturday, but, until then, enjoy Episode 132 recapping one of the biggest wins in club history!