Skip to Content Facebook Feature Image

Cruz Azul beats the Vancouver Whitecaps 5-0 for the CONCACAF Champions Cup title

Sport

Cruz Azul beats the Vancouver Whitecaps 5-0 for the CONCACAF Champions Cup title
Sport

Sport

Cruz Azul beats the Vancouver Whitecaps 5-0 for the CONCACAF Champions Cup title

2025-06-02 12:56 Last Updated At:13:01

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Ángel Sepúlveda scored twice and Cruz Azul routed the Vancouver Whitecaps 5-0 on Sunday to win its seventh CONCACAF Champions Cup.

Sepúlveda finished with a tournament-best nine goals. Ignacio Rivero, Lorenzo Faravelli and Mateusz Bogusz also scored for Cruz Azul, which built a 4-0 lead by halftime.

More Images
Ignacio Rivero of Mexico's Cruz Azul lifts the trophy after winning the CONCACAF Champions Cup final soccer match against Canada's Vancouver Whitecaps in Mexico City, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Ignacio Rivero of Mexico's Cruz Azul lifts the trophy after winning the CONCACAF Champions Cup final soccer match against Canada's Vancouver Whitecaps in Mexico City, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Mateusz Bogusz of Mexico's Cruz Azul, center, competes for the ball against Mathias Laborda, right, and Tristan Blackmon of Canada's Vancouver Whitecaps during the CONCACAF Champions Cup final soccer match in Mexico City, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Mateusz Bogusz of Mexico's Cruz Azul, center, competes for the ball against Mathias Laborda, right, and Tristan Blackmon of Canada's Vancouver Whitecaps during the CONCACAF Champions Cup final soccer match in Mexico City, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Mateusz Bogusz of Mexico's Cruz Azul celebrates scoring his side's 4th goal against Canada's Vancouver Whitecaps during the CONCACAF Champions Cup final soccer match in Mexico City, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Mateusz Bogusz of Mexico's Cruz Azul celebrates scoring his side's 4th goal against Canada's Vancouver Whitecaps during the CONCACAF Champions Cup final soccer match in Mexico City, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Angel Sepulveda of Mexico's Cruz Azul celebrates scoring his side's 5th goal against Canada's Vancouver Whitecaps during the CONCACAF Champions Cup final soccer match in Mexico City, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Angel Sepulveda of Mexico's Cruz Azul celebrates scoring his side's 5th goal against Canada's Vancouver Whitecaps during the CONCACAF Champions Cup final soccer match in Mexico City, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Angel Sepulveda of Mexico's Cruz Azul, left, is congratulated after scoring his side's 5th goal against Canada's Vancouver Whitecaps during the CONCACAF Champions Cup final soccer match in Mexico City, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Angel Sepulveda of Mexico's Cruz Azul, left, is congratulated after scoring his side's 5th goal against Canada's Vancouver Whitecaps during the CONCACAF Champions Cup final soccer match in Mexico City, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

The Liga MX club tied crosstown rival Club America for most titles in the tournament. It was Cruz Azul’s first title since 2013-14 when La Máquina beat Tijuana.

The Whitecaps were looking to make history as the first Canadian team to win the tournament, and the first winner from Major League Soccer since the Seattle Sounders in 2022.

“Cruz Azul is a club that demands a lot," Cruz Azul coach Vicente Sánchez said through a translator. "We prepared ourselves for this final. We had two weeks to prepare ourselves for this match, so we had a couple of friendly matches. Some players went to the national team. We knew this team, this rival.”

Cruz Azul had four shots on goal in the first half and scored on all of them. La Máquina took advantage of a defensive lapse by the Whitecaps and Ignacio Rivero coolly finished with his left foot in the seventh minute in front of cheering home fans at Estadio Olímpico Universitario.

Faravelli's goal came after a similar defensive lapse, struck from distance and went into the net after hitting the post.

After Sepúlveda's sliding goal in the 37th, Bogusz added a goal in the 45th just before the teams went into the break. Sepúlveda added another goal on a header in the 50th.

It was Cruz Azul goalkeeper Kevin Mier's fourth clean sheet of the tournament. The Whitecaps had no shots on goal during the match.

“I think that the main thing was that we were not able to come out with the calmness and confidence, and we were up against a team that came out very confident, playing at their home turf and and also in front of a great home crowd. So that was, I think, the main decider," Whitecaps coach Jesper Sorensen said.

Vancouver was without Sebastian Berhalter because of yellow card accumulation. He scored in both legs of the semifinal against Lionel Messi and Inter Miami.

The Whitecaps had hoped that captain Ryan Gauld would return from a knee injury in time for the game but he was not available.

Cruz Azul advanced with a two-legged victory over UANL Tigres.

Sanchez, who took over as interim coach of La Máquina in January, was peppered with questions after the match about his future with the team. He fell to his knees and sobbed on the field after the final whistle.

“I don’t know about the future. It’s one day at a time," Sanchez said. "I don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow. We have to enjoy today with the people that supported us, with fans. And tomorrow we’ll see, the decision does not depend on me.”

It was the first meeting between the Whitecaps and Cruz Azul.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Ignacio Rivero of Mexico's Cruz Azul lifts the trophy after winning the CONCACAF Champions Cup final soccer match against Canada's Vancouver Whitecaps in Mexico City, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Ignacio Rivero of Mexico's Cruz Azul lifts the trophy after winning the CONCACAF Champions Cup final soccer match against Canada's Vancouver Whitecaps in Mexico City, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Mateusz Bogusz of Mexico's Cruz Azul, center, competes for the ball against Mathias Laborda, right, and Tristan Blackmon of Canada's Vancouver Whitecaps during the CONCACAF Champions Cup final soccer match in Mexico City, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Mateusz Bogusz of Mexico's Cruz Azul, center, competes for the ball against Mathias Laborda, right, and Tristan Blackmon of Canada's Vancouver Whitecaps during the CONCACAF Champions Cup final soccer match in Mexico City, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Mateusz Bogusz of Mexico's Cruz Azul celebrates scoring his side's 4th goal against Canada's Vancouver Whitecaps during the CONCACAF Champions Cup final soccer match in Mexico City, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Mateusz Bogusz of Mexico's Cruz Azul celebrates scoring his side's 4th goal against Canada's Vancouver Whitecaps during the CONCACAF Champions Cup final soccer match in Mexico City, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Angel Sepulveda of Mexico's Cruz Azul celebrates scoring his side's 5th goal against Canada's Vancouver Whitecaps during the CONCACAF Champions Cup final soccer match in Mexico City, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Angel Sepulveda of Mexico's Cruz Azul celebrates scoring his side's 5th goal against Canada's Vancouver Whitecaps during the CONCACAF Champions Cup final soccer match in Mexico City, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Angel Sepulveda of Mexico's Cruz Azul, left, is congratulated after scoring his side's 5th goal against Canada's Vancouver Whitecaps during the CONCACAF Champions Cup final soccer match in Mexico City, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Angel Sepulveda of Mexico's Cruz Azul, left, is congratulated after scoring his side's 5th goal against Canada's Vancouver Whitecaps during the CONCACAF Champions Cup final soccer match in Mexico City, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal agents carrying out immigration arrests in Minnesota's Twin Cities region already shaken by the fatal shooting of a woman rammed the door of one home Sunday and pushed their way inside, part of what the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest enforcement operation ever.

In a dramatic scene similar to those playing out across Minneapolis, agents captured a man in the home just minutes after pepper spraying protesters outside who had confronted the heavily-armed federal agents. Along the residential street, protesters honked car horns, banged on drums and blew whistles in attempts to disrupt the operation.

Video of the clash showed some agents pushing back protesters while a distraught woman later emerged from the house with a document that federal agents presented to arrest the man. Signed by an immigration officer, the document — unlike a warrant signed by a judge — does not authorize forced entry into a private residence. A warrant signed by an immigration officer only authorizes arrest in a public area.

Immigrant advocacy groups have done extensive “know-your-rights” campaigns urging people not to open their doors unless agents have a court order signed by a judge.

But within minutes of ramming the door in a neighborhood filled with single-family homes, the handcuffed man was led away and soon gone.

More than 2,000 immigration arrests have been made in Minnesota since the enforcement operation began at the beginning of December, said Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.

The Twin Cities — the latest target in President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign — is bracing for what is next after 37-year-old Renee Good was shot and killed by an immigration officer Wednesday.

“We’re seeing a lot of immigration enforcement across Minneapolis and across the state, federal agents just swarming around our neighborhoods,” said Jason Chavez, a Minneapolis city councilmember. “They’ve definitely been out here.”

Chavez, the son of Mexican immigrants who represents an area with a growing immigrant population, said he is closely monitoring information from chat groups about where residents are seeing agents operating.

People holding whistles positioned themselves in freezing temperatures on street corners Sunday in the neighborhood where Good was killed, watching for any signs of federal agents.

More than 20,000 people have taken part in a variety of trainings to become “observers” of enforcement activities in Minnesota since the 2024 election, said Luis Argueta, a spokesperson for Unidos MN, a local human rights organization .

“It’s a role that people choose to take on voluntarily, because they choose to look out for their neighbors,” Argueta said.

The protests have been largely peaceful, but residents remained anxious. On Monday, Minneapolis public schools will start offering remote learning for the next month in response to concerns that children might feel unsafe venturing out while tensions remain high.

Many schools closed last week after Good’s shooting and the upheaval that followed.

While the enforcement activity continues, two of the state’s leading Democrats said that the investigation into Good's shooting death should not be overseen solely by the federal government.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith said in separate interviews Sunday that state authorities should be included in the investigation because the federal government has already made clear what it believes happened.

“How can we trust the federal government to do an objective, unbiased investigation, without prejudice, when at the beginning of that investigation they have already announced exactly what they saw — what they think happened," Smith said on ABC’s "This Week."

The Trump administration has defended the officer who shot Good in her car, saying he was protecting himself and fellow agents and that Good had “weaponized” her vehicle.

Todd Lyons, acting director of ICE, defended the officer on Fox News Channel’s “The Sunday Briefing.”

"That law enforcement officer had milliseconds, if not short time to make a decision to save his life and his other fellow agents,” he said.

Lyons also said the administration’s enforcement operations in Minnesota wouldn't be needed “if local jurisdictions worked with us to turn over these criminally illegal aliens once they are already considered a public safety threat by the locals.”

The killing of Good by an ICE officer and the shooting of two people by federal agents in Portland, Oregon, led to dozens of protests across the country over the weekend.

Thousands of people marched Saturday in Minneapolis, where Homeland Security called its deployment of immigration officers in the Twin Cities its biggest ever immigration enforcement operation.

Associated Press journalists Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis, Thomas Strong in Washington, Bill Barrow in Atlanta, and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.

A woman gets into an altercation with a federal immigration officer as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A woman gets into an altercation with a federal immigration officer as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A federal immigration officer deploys pepper spray as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A federal immigration officer deploys pepper spray as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A family member, center, reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A family member, center, reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Bystanders are treated after being pepper sprayed as federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Bystanders are treated after being pepper sprayed as federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A family member reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A family member reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Federal agents look on after detaining a person during a patrol in Minneapolis, Minn., Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

Federal agents look on after detaining a person during a patrol in Minneapolis, Minn., Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

Bystanders react after a man was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Bystanders react after a man was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)

People stand near a memorial at the site where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

People stand near a memorial at the site where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

A man looks out of a car window after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A man looks out of a car window after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Border Patrol agents detain a man, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Border Patrol agents detain a man, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

People shout toward Border Patrol agents making an arrest, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

People shout toward Border Patrol agents making an arrest, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Demonstrators protest outside the White House in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Demonstrators protest outside the White House in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey holds a news conference on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey holds a news conference on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

Protesters react as they visit a makeshift memorial during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Protesters react as they visit a makeshift memorial during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Recommended Articles