Wednesday night in Fort Lauderdale, the Vancouver Whitecaps ousted Inter Miami from the CONCACAF Champions Cup with a 3-1 victory, 5-1 on aggregate, which secured Vancouver’s place in the final, marking a historic day for the franchise.

Throughout this competition, the way that Vancouver has continually been able to respond to adversity has been beyond impressive. A lot was made going into this second leg about how important the start would be for both teams, and Miami got exactly what they needed inside ten minutes. Yet, even with Vancouver giving away a rather cheap goal, there never seemed to be any hesitation or dropping of heads. Rather, the Whitecaps appeared to lock in from that moment forward, and once Vancouver made it to the half at 1-0, that was the time where Sørensen could make his adjustments, and get his team back in attack mode.

Something that has stood out this season about the Whitecaps is that when they identify a weakness in opponents, they are absolutely ruthless in exploiting it. This was true back on the weekend against Minnesota, and the same was true against Miami. Once Vancouver was able to get Ali Ahmed and Sebastian Berhalter overloading the right side of the Miami defence (especially with Maximiliano Falcón on a yellow card), there was simply no stopping Vancouver. Those two combined twice in short succession creating goals for the Whitecaps, and with Miami chasing the game from there on out, Vancouver had Inter in a vulnerable position, as they were eventually able to capitalize with a third goal, making the rest of the match academic.

Alright, without further delay, let’s dive into the player grades:

Yohei Takaoka – 6.0

The Japanese keeper’s blunder on the first goal was a moment that could have shifted the tie back in Miami’s favour, but it feels irrelevant given everything that happened after that. Still, this is the one area where I think Vancouver could be let down in a big moment.

Tate Johnson – 6.5

The young American was not quite able to follow up his massive performance from leg one, but even so, I still thought he was composed throughout most of the first half. An early yellow card and the desire to control the ball meant Sam Adekugbe was a logical halftime substitution.

Ranko Veselinovic – 7.0

An attacking duo without any pace is pretty much a dream matchup for this centreback pairing. Vancouver allowed one long ball over the top which could have been a problem, but otherwise, Miami created almost nothing centrally over two legs.

Tristan Blackmon – 7.0

I think you can wonder if Blackmon could have organized the players around him a bit better on the Miami goal. That said, Blackmon was rock solid the rest of the match and I thought his progressive passing was particularly notable.

Edier Ocampo – 7.0

As with Blackmon, certainly, some of the responsibility for the defensive breakdown lies with him. Otherwise, though, Ocampo continues to be a progressive beast down the right side, and his defensive workrate is underrated, especially when he has to really haul in order to get back and cover after going on the attack.

Andres Cubas – 7.5

Cubas didn’t have to do anything particularly exceptional, but he harassed Miami’s front two, as both Messi and Suarez were forced to drop deeper and deeper in order to have any space on the ball. There are not many like Cubas in the North American game.

Pedro Vite – 8.0

We’ve been waiting for the Ecuadorian to hit this kind of level in Vancouver, and what a joy it is to watch now that he has truly arrived. Under Sørensen, Vite gets to harness the freelancing play-maker that made him a top prospect, but he also uses the defensive traits he learned under Sartini playing in a deeper role. What you get, then, is a complete midfielder. Beyond his goal in this match, Vite made 6 passes into the final third, completed 4 long balls, and won 7 of 12 duels.

Sebastian Berhalter – 9.0

Long time readers on this site will know that I’ve been a Seb truther since day one, but man, has he hit another level in recent weeks, where the USMNT shouts are more than a trendy hipster take. We have to start with the goal and two assists, as none of Vancouver’s goals happen without his combination with Ali Ahmed. But there is also the grit and attitude Berhalter brings to the whole team. I think it’s fair to say that even at 23, Berhalter steps up as a leader in big moments. He’s a real tone setter with the way he carries himself on the pitch, which is invaluable, especially in these big CONCACAF games.

Ali Ahmed – 8.5

After a mixed performance in the first leg, Ali Ahmed has been on fire these last two matches. He seems to have found his touch with his dribbling and cutback crosses in the box, and it’s created three goals in the last two games. Marcelo Weigandt had his number in leg one, but I think it’s fair to say that Ali Ahmed had the last laugh after this performance.

Emmanuel Sabbi – 6.5

While the effort was there and Sabbi narrowly missed out on scoring in the first half, it felt like the American was a bit disconnected from the team in possession. Sabbi doesn’t provide a ton in terms of play-making ability, and I was a little surprised Nelson didn’t get the start given the matchup.

Brian White – 8.0

All he does is score big goals. White’s touch to secure Vancouver’s crucial away goal was absolutely perfect, and that’s exactly what you need from him in those moments. He also comprehensively harassed Maximiliano Falcón in the first half with his holdup play, and I think that went a long way in softening Miami’s defensive posture, leaving them exposed in the second half on that side of the pitch.

Substitutes – 7.0

The changes did not have the same dramatic impact as Minnesota on the weekend, but the depth still played a crucial role. The ability to bring on Adekugbe at half time was a welcome luxury, especially with Sam’s experience on these big stages. Daniel Rios is the kind of depth striker Vancouver really needed last season, and his form continues to go upward. JC Ngando and Jayden Nelson came on right after the 3-1 goal, so I don’t think there’s much to take away from their performances, given the state of the match at that point. It’s pretty wild that this one was over at minute 71, who’d have thought that would be the case?

Alright, those were my thoughts from the second leg down in Miami. Let me know yours in the comments.

(Image: Vancouver Whitecaps FC)