Montreal Impact 2 America 4 (agg 3-5): Visitors clinch sixth CCL title

A second-half blitz saw America clinch their sixth CONCACAF Champions League title on Wednesday as they defeated Montreal Impact 5-3 on aggregate.

America trailed 1-0 at half-time in the second leg of the final but stormed to victory after the break in Montreal, with Dario Benedetto scoring a hat-trick and Oribe Peralta also getting on the scoresheet in a 4-2 triumph for the visitors.

The victory took America alongside fellow Mexican club Cruz Azul as the most successful in the continental competition across both the Champions Cup and Champions League eras.

The Impact had entered the second leg looking to become the first Canadian club to win a continental title, and the first MLS outfit to lift the trophy in the Champions League’s seven-year history.

Having claimed a 1-1 draw in Mexico last week, the hosts started brilliantly in front of a packed house at the Stade Olympique, with Andres Romero opening the scoring in the eighth minute with a sharp finish.

Montreal were happy to defend deep after taking the lead and apart from Benedetto hitting the woodwork, the home side were relatively comfortable in the first half, while Ignacio Piatti should have doubled their lead midway through the period but failed to convert a one-on-one chance.

Half-time seemed to ignite America, however, and Benedetto levelled the tie in the 50th minute, acrobatically volleying Osvaldo Martinez’s cross into the net.

A three-minute period just after the hour-mark effectively clinched victory for the visitors, as Peralta put them ahead with a header from a yard out in the 64th minute before Benedetto notched his second goal with a flying volley from Miguel Samudio’s cross.

Benedetto wrapped up his hat-trick in the 81st minute, collecting the ball on the edge of the area and dispatching it into the top corner in impressive fashion.

Jack McInerney pulled a goal back for Montreal in the 89th minute but it meant little.