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Monterrey defeated Sporting KC 5-2 on Thursday
in the second leg of the series at Kansas City, Kan., completing
Monterrey's 10-2 aggregate-goals victory. Monterrey cruised to a
5-0 home win in the first leg last Thursday.
The all-Liga MX final will feature Tigres and Monterrey. Tigres
got past fellow Mexican side Santos Laguna 5-3 on aggregate in
the other semifinal series, which finished Wednesday.
Monterrey is headed for the championship round for the fourth
time, having won the title on each of the previous occasions
(2011-13). Tigres will be in the CONCACAF Champions League final
for the third time, having lost in 2016 and 2017.
The two-legged championship round will played in late April and
early May.
Facing what seemed like an impossible task heading into the
match, Sporting KC got some early hope Thursday when Gerso
Fernandes scored on a cross from Johnny Russell in the sixth
minute to give the MLS club an early 1-0 lead. Gerso scored
again in the 29th minute, but Monterrey's Rogelio Funes Mori
scored nine minutes earlier, negating the impact of the Gerso
brace.
From there, the inevitability of Sporting KC's exit only grew,
as Monterrey not only held the hosts at bay, but added four more
goals between the 39th and 91st minutes.
Perhaps no moment better epitomized the futility of KC's efforts
than Ilie Sanchez's failed penalty kick in the 45th minute, with
score tied at 2-2.
Funes Mori added his second goal in the 91st minute, the final
goal of the match.
No Major League Soccer team has won the CONCACAF Champions
League since the Los Angeles Galaxy took the crown in 2000.
--Field Level Media
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