LAFC blow doors off Philadelphia Union to reach Concacaf Champions League final

LAFC have booked their second shot at a Concacaf Champions League title in four years, earning that opportunity with a resounding 3-0 rout over the Philadelphia Union in Tuesday night’s semifinal second-leg clash at BMO Stadium.

The Black & Gold, who won the series 4-1 on aggregate, will discover Wednesday evening if they’ll face Liga MX’s Tigres UANL or Club León in the 2023 final. The continent’s biggest club prize will be decided across two legs on May 31 and June 4.

The tone was set in the 13th minute when LAFC midfielder Timothy Tillman roofed a corner kick that Union goalkeeper Andre Blake initially made a jaw-dropping save on, parrying Ilie Sánchez’s header for a follow-up effort.

Philadelphia had strong looks at an equalizer, particularly through midfielder Dániel Gazdag, but the task became even more daunting in the 59th minute when right back Olivier Mbaizo was shown a second-yellow red card for clipping LAFC forward Dénis Bouanga in the open field.

The visitors’ hopes were dashed in the 82nd minute when LAFC forward Kwadwo Opoku collected a through ball from Carlos Vela and established a 2-0 advantage with a powerful top-shelf shot past Blake. And they were crushed entirely in the 90th minute when Bouanga iced the scoreline, capping the Black & Gold’s party.