Mexico's Pachuca defeated Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew 3-0 on Saturday to win the CONCACAF Champions Cup for the sixth time.
Veteran striker Salomon Rondon scored twice either side of Miguel Rodriguez's goal to give Pachuca a deserved victory at the 30,000-seat Estadio Hidalgo.
Columbus came into the finals full of confidence after a strong showing in defeating Mexico's UANL Tigres and Monterrey en route to Saturday's final.
But the MLS champions were overwhelmed by a ferocious start from Pachuca, who took the lead after just 12 minutes when Venezuela international Rondon broke through the Columbus defence and deftly chipped the ball over the head of advancing goalkeeper Patrick Schulte.
Pachucha thought he had a 2-0 lead moments later when Oussama Idrissi scored on a neat move that split the Columbus defense.
However, referee Ivan Barton disallowed the goal after the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) intervened after spotting a foul in front of the goal.
But the respite was short-lived for Columbus, as the MLS team struggled to cope with Pachuca's superior movement off the ball.
Just after the half-hour mark, Rodriguez scored a powerful shot from Eric Sanchez's cross to give the home team a 2-0 lead.
Columbus set up altitude tents at players' homes and trained wearing altitude training masks in preparation for Saturday's final, which will be held at an altitude of about 7,959 feet (2,426 meters) above sea level.
But those attempts to adapt to the harsh home conditions seemed to have little noticeable effect on Saturday, as Pachuca controlled the game for long periods and created chances at will.
As the second half began, the Liga MX side launched a flurry of attacks, but some great play from Columbus goalkeeper Schulte prevented Pachuca from scoring another goal.
Eventually, Columbus' resistance was broken again when Rondon smashed a low shot into the bottom corner in the 67th minute after some good work down the left by Idrissi.
Rondon's second goal put Mexico up 3-0, and Columbus never looked capable of overturning the deficit.
Pachuca's victory continued Mexico's long record of dominance in the continent's premier club competition, which features teams from North, Central America and the Caribbean. Mexican clubs have won the tournament in 18 of the past 19 editions.
Saturday's victory means Pachuca has secured the final spot in CONCACAF's qualifiers for the expanded FIFA Club World Cup, scheduled to be held in the United States next year.
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