Toluca rout Son's LAFC to set up all-Mexican CONCACAF final / Photo: © AFP
Toluca rout Son's LAFC to set up all-Mexican CONCACAF final
Son Heung-min's Los Angeles FC were thrashed 4-0 in Wednesday's second leg by Deportivo Toluca to set up an all-Mexican CONCACAF Champions Cup final.
The hosts won the semi-final 5-2 on aggregate and will face Tigres UANL in North and Central America's top club competition -- the first final without a Major League Soccer side in five years.
Helinho scored a penalty and Everardo Lopez added a thunderbolt from outside the box before LAFC's Ryan Porteous was sent off late and the floodgates opened.
Portuguese striker Paulinho had a tap-in at the far post before smashing in a fourth deep in stoppage time, as Toluca overturned a 2-1 first-leg deficit.
It was a deeply disappointing night for Major League Soccer's star-studded LAFC, who desperately tried to surge forward in the late stages and were left wildly exposed.
Denis Bouanga and Timothy Tillman had spurned a glorious double chance in the eighth minute that would have given their side a 3-1 aggregate advantage, before Toluca took control despite hitting the woodwork four times.
LAFC did not help themselves. Ryan Hollingshead conceded a penalty with a late tackle in the area on Paulinho, before Scottish defender Porteous received a straight red for his clumsy attempt to recover the ball after Nicolas Castro's high press.
The final will take place on May 30.
C.Stein--BP
