Cruz Azul rout Vancouver to win record-tying 7th Champions Cup title

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Ángel Sepúlveda scored twice and Cruz Azul routed the Vancouver Whitecaps 5-0 on Sunday to win its seventh CONCACAF Champions Cup.

Sepúlveda finished with a tournament-best nine goals. Ignacio Rivero, Lorenzo Faravelli and Mateusz Bogusz also scored for Cruz Azul, which built a 4-0 lead by halftime.

The Liga MX club tied crosstown rival Club America for most titles in the tournament. It was Cruz Azul’s first title since 2013-14 when La Máquina beat Tijuana.

The Whitecaps were looking to make history as the first Canadian team to win the tournament, and the first winner from Major League Soccer since the Seattle Sounders in 2022.

Cruz Azul had four shots on goal in the first half and scored on all of them. La Máquina took advantage of a defensive lapse by the Whitecaps and Rivero coolly finished with his left foot in the seventh minute in front of cheering home fans at Estadio Olímpico Universitario.

Faravelli’s goal came after a similar defensive lapse, struck from distance and went into the net after hitting the post.

After Sepúlveda’s sliding goal in the 37th, Bogusz added a goal in the 45th just before the teams went into the break. Sepúlveda added another goal on a header in the 50th.

It was Cruz Azul goalkeeper Kevin Mier’s fourth clean sheet of the tournament. The Whitecaps had no shots on goal during the match.

Vancouver was without Sebastian Berhalter because of yellow card accumulation. He scored in both legs of the semifinal against Lionel Messi and Inter Miami.

The Whitecaps had hoped that captain Ryan Gauld would return from a knee injury in time for the game but he was not available.

Cruz Azul advanced to the final with a two-legged victory over UANL Tigres.

It was the first meeting between the Whitecaps and Cruz Azul.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer