Gignac stunner helps Tigres finish off Whitecaps, set up all-Liga MX CCL final
With one glorious swing of his right leg, Andre-Pierre Gignac helped secure Tigres UANL's return to the CONCACAF Champions League final.
Gignac's 20-yard stunner dealt the deathblow to the Vancouver Whitecaps, as Tigres won the second leg of their semifinal 2-1 to complete a 4-1 aggregate triumph and set up another all-Liga MX final vs. Pachuca. It marks the seventh time in the nine years of the current CCL format that the final will feature two Mexican teams, with only MLS's Real Salt Lake and Montreal Impact bucking the trend.
Vancouver didn't go down without a fight, and it started the night at BC Place perfectly with Brek Shea's third-minute goal cutting into Tigres's 2-0 overall advantage carried over from the first leg.
Gignac removed all doubt with his dagger of an away goal in the 63rd minute. The French international curled a blast from the edge of the area into the upper right-hand corner to restore the two-goal aggregate edge, give Tigres an away goal and deflate Vancouver's lingering hopes.
Damian Alvarez secured the result in the 84th minute with an insurance goal, sending Tigres back to the stage where the club fell to America on a 4-1 aggregate last year.
Tigres will take on Pachuca on April 18 and 26 in the two-legged final, with Tigres hosting the first leg. Pachuca ousted FC Dallas in dramatic fashion, with Hirving Lozano's injury-time goal securing Los Tuzos' place in the final.
