Atlanta Utd win Campeones Cup

Club América beaten 3-2

ATLANTA, Aug 15, (AP): As confetti flew all around, Atlanta United’s players bounced up and down in the middle of the field, celebrating with the same passion they showed last December.

No, it wasn’t as significant as winning the MLS Cup.

But in some ways, this felt even more satisfying.

Atlanta scored a victory for all of Major League Soccer by beating one of the Mexico’s powerhouse teams.

Josef Martinez scored on a penalty kick in the 65h minute after being stopped on his first attempt, and United gave MLS rare bragging rights over Liga MX by knocking off Club América 3-2 for the Campeones Cup on Wednesday night.

“These are the two champions against each other,” Atlanta United coach Frank de Boer said. “It’s good to see we’re getting closer.”

The matchup between the reigning MLS Cup champion and the Liga MX team that won the Campeón de Campeones last month was an entertaining, back-and-forth affair before 40,128 fans at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, split nearly evenly between redclad

Martinez

United fans and yellow-wearing América supporters.

Atlanta United grabbed an early lead, América surged ahead early in the second half, but the home team pulled off a comeback of its own to add another trophy to its case.

“They’re obviously a great team,” said Emerson Hyndman, who gave Atlanta a lead just 5 minutes into the game. “We knew it was going to be tough match. But I think the way we competed tonight showed we can compete with teams in Mexico. It was a great team performance. It showed how far we’ve come”

This one felt especially good for MLS, which has struggled to make inroads against North America’s dominant soccer country. Liga MX teams have won all 11 CONCACAF Champions League titles, and Tigres UANL beat Toronto FC 3-1 in the inaugural Campeones Cup last year.

But Atlanta came out on top against an América team that sent out all but one starter from the lineup used for its most recent Liga MX game. With an important MLS match coming up at Portland, United showed its depth by going with five new starters including backup goalkeeper Alec Kann, who gave Brad Guzan the night off and made a huge save in the opening minutes off a header.

“He looked very confident in goal,” de Boer said about Kann. “I’m very proud of him.”