Pachuca beat Columbus 3-0 in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. | © Twitter (@FIFAcom)
Mexican team Pachuca won the CONCACAF Champions Cup for the sixth time on Saturday, beating Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew 3-0. Experienced striker Salomon Rondon scored twice, and Miguel Rodriguez added another goal, securing the win at Pachuca’s 30,000-seat Estadio Hidalgo. Columbus had been confident after a great season, where they defeated Mexican teams UANL Tigres and Monterrey to reach the final. However, Pachuca started strong, scoring just 12 minutes in when Venezuelan player Rondon got past the Columbus defense and chipped the ball over goalkeeper Patrick Schulte.
Pachucha almost made it 2-0 shortly after when Oussama Idrissi scored from a good team play that broke through the Columbus defense.
However, referee Ivan Barton overturned the goal after VAR found a foul in the buildup.”
Columbus only got a brief break, as they couldn’t handle Pachuca’s better off-the-ball movement.
Shortly after the 30-minute mark, Rodriguez made it 2-0 for Pachuca with a powerful shot after Erick Sanchez’s cross.
To prepare for Saturday’s final, held at 7,959 feet (2,426 meters) above sea level, Columbus had their players use altitude tents at home and do workouts with elevation training masks.
However, those efforts to adjust to the challenging local conditions seemed to have little effect on Saturday, as Pachuca dominated play for long stretches and created numerous chances.
Only the excellent performance of Columbus goalkeeper Schulte kept Pachuca from increasing their lead, as the second half began with relentless attacks from the Liga-MX team.
Eventually, Columbus’s defense was broken again when Rondon scored with a low shot into the bottom corner at 67 minutes after good work down the left by Idrissi.
Rondon’s second goal made it 3-0 for Pachuca, and Columbus never seemed able to overcome the deficit.
Pachuca’s victory extends Mexico’s impressive streak of success in the tournament, which is the top club competition for teams from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Mexican clubs have now won 18 out of the last 19 editions.
Furthermore, Saturday’s triumph secures Pachuca the final CONCACAF qualifying spot for next year’s FIFA Club World Cup, which will be held in the United States and includes an expanded lineup of teams.
