CF Pachuca beats Columbus Crew in CONCACAF Champions Cup final: Here is What happened

Jeff Rueter, Paul Tenorio, Pablo Maurer

02/06/2024

Pachuca are the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup winners thanks to a dominant 3-0 win over MLS side Columbus Crew at Estadio Hidalgo on Saturday night.

Columbus did not have the ability to compensate for the quality of Pachuca as the scoreline was an accurate representation of the game’s balance. The Crew faced opportunities, but were unable to take advantage of them and instead allowed Pachuca to build on the first half goal, but not really trying to turn it into an even contest. Salomon Rondon was the hero by scoring the winner and adding the score of insurance to end the game.

This means Pachuca have been selected for this year’s 2025 Club World Cup, with the tournament being expanded to take place in venues across all over the United States. There are two teams left to be decided from the 32 teams that will take part in the tournament, with a final place from South America likey to be filled by Boca Juniors and a host confederation qualifier that is to be decided in North America, Central America or the Caribbean.

At least for one more season in 2022, the Seattle Sounders remain the only MLS team to have won the CONCACAF Champions Cup in its contemporary era.

“I’m really proud of my players, I’m really proud of what they did,” Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy said following the game. “We missed the last step, we tried to do what we wanted to do but it was not enough for tonight.”

This is how the Crew got sucked out of the Estadio Hidalgo.

Missed opportunities

Columbus will regret its mistakes and beg to think about how different the outcome could have been in the event that they were more vigilant before the net.

It all started fifteen minutes into the match after Diego Rossi got on the end of a cross near the upper part of the box and made a diving stop by Pachuca goalkeeper Carlos Moreno. Rossi certainly could have done better and gave the Crew the ideal start by scoring the first goal of the game.

A few minutes later two minutes later, two minutes later, the Crew continued to threaten for the first goal. Alexandru Matan stepped in down the left side of an attack, but could not get the ball to his teammate to complete what could be a simple goal.

In less than 10 minutes following the Counter, Pachuca opened the scoring in the tenth minute when Deossa caught Rondon by kicking him in the foot with a vicious outside-of-the foot pass, in the Venezuelan striker hit Columbus goalkeeper Patrick Schulte.

“The first goal was a mistake of positioning, not only with the center back but also with the backline,” Nancy explained. “Usually when we lose the goal, we are aware that we have plenty of time to make amends. My team was ready to give up, but no. They continued however it wasn’t enough.”

Columbus was boosted when Pachuca’s second goal was ruled back. They had an opportunity to tie the game after Cucho Hernandez was positioned for a shot with a right-footed kick from within the area in the final minute of the game however, Cucho barely missed the outside of the right post, and just moments after that Pachuca ran through the field on counter-attack in the 32nd minute. Miguel Rodriguez beat Schulte to the near post to extend the lead.

Columbus was relentless during their campaign to win the MLS Cup last year. They scored more goals than any other team in MLS this season, as well as scoring 8.23 extra goals than anticipated. This deadliness went unnoticed in the first half when they played Pachuca and Columbus was the one to pay for it.

It is possible that illness was a component of the reason. Nancy stated afterward the following day that “all the team” and personnel had contracted an illness prior to the game. She said that they had all experienced diarrhea the day prior to the match. But he also stressed that it wasn’t an excuse and added that Pachuca were deserved winners, regardless of circumstances.

“Bravo to Pachuca,” Nancy declared. “They deserved to win.”

– Paul Tenorio

Rondon plays for Pachuca

If those within MLS circles discuss the best strikers in Liga MX The conversation always starts with Gignac, Andre however it doesn’t have to stop there. Like Gignac the Frenchman has been at the core of Tigres UANL’s successes since joining the club in 2015. Pachuca appears to have discovered a reliable leading man through Salomon Ronaldon. The fans who follow the Premier League will remember the Venezuelan for his fluctuating performance when playing for West Brom, pre-takeover Newcastle and Everton At times an opponent to reckon with, and at other times a player that is easy for opponents to control.

The 34-year-old’s second season out of Europe. He scored 10 goals with River Plate as they won the Argentine league title in 2023, Rondon arrived in Mexico in the beginning of the season and quickly established himself as a player. Another 10 goals in a row earned him the co-custody award of the Liga MX Clausura Golden Boot in the midst of adjusting to his new team and he was also able to enter the final on Saturday with seven goals from the six CONCACAF Champions Cup matches.

The chemistry between a striker as well as club has proved to be a successful one, and will be a recurring theme for Columbus defenses for a long time.

Rondon scored at the midpoint of the first half and was rewarded for a stunning line-breaking ball from the midfielder Nelson Deossa with an equally swift looped strike on Patrick Schulte.

Rondon appeared to be playing the role of a distributor in a second goal two minutes later, but VAR intervened to reverse the scoreline following a situation where Rondon was on his way to smack Rudy Camacho in the back before rushing towards the goal.

A gruff striker is always fashionable. Much like Gignac has repeatedly his first half-year at Mexico has already produced several memorable moments that will be able to draw Pachuca’s fans for the years to follow. Venezuela fans are hoping that Rondon can create some moments of pure magic this summer at the Copa America. – Jeff Rueter

A familiar ending for MLS

Columbus was the only team to compete in an CONCACAF finale since CONCACAF’s beginning at the time of 1996. If the team had won and won, it would only be 4th team the history of the league to experience continental glory. The club would also have broken the ground for the first time at Pachuca specifically. Based on Opta, Pachuca has not lost at home in its history against MLS opponents, scoring their opponents 26-5 in the eight games.

Two of them, D.C. United and the LA Galaxy, came in the previous single-elimination edition of CONCACAF competitions between 1998 and 2000 respectively. In 2022 Seattle Sounders won the CONCACAF championship. Seattle Sounders became the first MLS team to win the competition in the modern era. The team was described as a pivotal moment in the history of the league and a sign it was a sign that MLS was finally able to level its playing fields with LigaMX.

It takes more than one win however, to alter an entire narrative. And on Saturday night the Crew – the most stylistically and tactically solid squad in MLS time — added themselves to the long list of MLS clubs that came up short in competitions across the continent.

The league’s boosters and the club will offer the same arguments that are rolled out each year about schedules, rosters and other similar issues. Of course, can make a huge difference in calming the disappointment of any player and each new year, the excuses become a bit hollow.

In spite of all this there is no doubt that MLS is growing in this tournament. The last four finals have been played by the participation of an MLS club, as well as Nancy’s. They is arguably one of the very first MLS team to be there through playing a proactive, aggressive soccer. The Crew performed admirably throughout the entire tournament with two excellent games with Liga MX powerhouses CF Monterrey and Tigres.

In time’s end but the supporters of the club — as well as the fans of MLS all over the world have a familiar taste in their mouths this evening. — Pablo Maurer

(Photo: Manuel Velasquez/Getty Images)