Mexico’s Cruz Azul overcame Canada’s Vancouver FC on Thursday to qualify for the round of 16 of the CONCACAF Champions Cup with a 5-0 thrashing .
With three goals from Luka Romero, one from Jorge Rodarte and another from Argentine Nicolás Ibáñez, the Azules, led by Argentine coach Nicolás Larcamón, won the series 8-0, after having won the first leg 3-0.
Romero unleashes Celeste dominance with a double
The Mexicans went from strength to strength in the first half against an opponent that started in an orderly fashion.
But after half an hour they began to fade and were outplayed.
In the 37th minute, Romero took an assist from Jeremy Márquez and left-footed it into the net with the cooperation of goalkeeper Callum Irving, making it 1-0.
From that point on, there was only one team on the field, Cruz Azul.
In the 44th minute they came close to extending the lead when Marquez hit the post.
And they did just that in the 45+1 minute with a header from Romero, who accepted a pass from Omar Campos and headed in unmarked to widen the gap to 2-0.
Already thinking about Monterrey
They won the series 8-0
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Cruz Azul reigned supreme in the second half against an opponent with repeated defensive lapses.
Romero scored his third goal, a left-footed shot in the 62nd.
Rodarte scored with a header in the 68th minute, while Ibañez scored with a right-footed tap-in.
In the round of 16, the Azules will face Rayados de Monterrey, who eliminated Xelajú of Guatemala yesterday.
Technical data
5. Cruz Azul: Emmanuel Ochoa; Omar Campos (Diego Valdez m.55), Jorge Rodarte, Amaury García, Willer Ditta (Erik Lira m.46), Amaury Morales; Andrés Montaño (Christian Ebere m.70), Jeremy Márquez (Carlos Rodríguez m.46), Luka Romero; Gabriel Fernández, José Paradela (Nicolás Ibáñez m.46).
Coach: Nicolás Larcamón.
Vancouver FC: Callum Irving; Tom Field, Matteo Campagna, Paris Gee; Kian Proctor (Tyler Crawford m.55), Damiano Pecile (Abdoulaye Ouattara m.55), Marcello Polisi (Nicolas Mezquida m.65), Morey Doner; Elage Bah (Terran Campbell m.70), Mohamed Amissi, Luis Toomey (David Norman m.55).
Coach: Martin Nash.
Goals: 1-0, 37th minute: Luka Romero; 2-0, 45+1: Luka Romero; 3-0, 62nd minute: Luka Romero; 4-0, 68th minute: Jorge Rodarte; 5-0, 74th minute: Nicolás Ibáñez.
Referee: Tori Penso of the United States. Yellow cards for Willer Ditta and David Norman.
Incidents: Second leg of the first round of the CONCACAF Champions Cup between Cruz Azul and Vancouver FC, held at the Cuauhtémoc Stadium in Puebla, central Mexico.
With information from EFE
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