Lucas Di Yorio scored in the 20th minute to lift Leon to a 1-0 victory over host Los Angeles FC in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League final on Sunday.
Following their 2-1 win against Los Angeles in Leon, Mexico, on Wednesday, Leon clinched the CCL title with a 3-1 aggregate score to earn a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup, which will be played in December in Saudi Arabia.
Mexican teams have now won 17 of the last 18 CCL championships. The only non-Mexican team to prevail in the tournament during that stretch was the Seattle Sounders, who toppled Pumas UNAM by an aggregate score of 5-2 last year.
Beautiful spacing from Leon led to a through ball that found Ivan Moreno, who sent a cross to the top of the center of the box. Di Yoria wasted no time in sending a right-footed shot toward the goal, and LAFC goalkeeper John McCarthy — who was partially screened — got his hands on the ball but couldn’t secure the save as the visitors took a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
McCarthy only faced two shots on the night, making one save. Leon goalkeeper Rodolfo Cota made three saves while posting the shutout.
One of Cota’s most important stops came in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time. Timothy Tillman nearly leveled the match with a header from the center of the box, but Cota was there to prevent the equalizer.
LAFC had another chance to score six minutes later, but Jesus Murillo sent a shot over the crossbar following a corner.
Los Angeles controlled 56 percent of the possession and outshot Leon 14-7 but had just three shots on target. The hosts also tallied seven corners compared to Leon’s three.
–Field Level Media