Josef Martinez netted the winning goal to hand Atlanta United a 3-2 victory over Club America and lift the 2019 Campeones Cup after an epic game in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Martinez netted MLS champion Atlanta’s third from the penalty spot in the 65th, having seen a first-half penalty saved.
The Campeones Cup is played out each year between the MLS champion and the Liga MX Campeon de Campeones, with Tigres defeating Toronto FC in the inaugural 2018 edition.
The game started out at a frantic pace and didn’t let up, with Atlanta taking the lead in the 5th minute through Emerson Hyndman, who latched onto a pass from Dion Pereira and slotted a finish past America keeper Oscar Jimenez.
The Liga MX 2018 Apertura champion responded when Renato Ibarra scored with a shot off the crossbar in the 13th, after Colombian international Roger Martinez had dribbled to the byline and crossed in low from the left.
Martinez was fouled inside the penalty area by Bruno Valdez and had a chance to send Atlanta into the lead in the 41st, but his penalty — taken with a hop during his run-up — was saved by Jimenez.
America took the lead in 57th when Martinez scrambled the ball in from a corner, but a deflected long-range shot from Jeff Larentowicz leveled the score at 2-2 two minutes later.
Martinez made amends for his earlier miss with the winner, with America pushing towards the end of the game, but unable to find the equalizer. The task was made more difficult when Valdez received his second yellow card in the 72nd minute and was sent off.
Atlanta had the majority of possession at 57% and had more shots on target (9-6), but both teams flew into tackles and neither team enjoyed sustained periods of dominance.