Hugo Lloris and Olivier Giroud, scorer, lifted their first American trophy by winning the final of the United States Cup with Los Angeles FC against Sporting Kansas City (3-1 aet) Wednesday in Los Angeles. The two 2018 world champions, former stars of the French team in the twilight of their careers, are fully launching their American adventure as the MLS championship play-offs approach.
Lloris and Giroud, both 37, sat side by side in their new dressing room, seizing the opportunity to add to their honours after being defeated in the League Cup final on August 25 by Columbus Crew. This cup has “a special flavour”, said Giroud, who led the fans in a victory chant after the game. “It was tough but this one we had to win,” he told AFP on the pitch after the final whistle.
“Iand finished the matches on my knees”
“I’ll be 38 next Monday, I’m trying to stay in shape, I finish matches on my knees, the most important thing is to give everything for the team.” “It’s the first in the United States with LAFC, it’s cool,” commented Hugo Lloris, for his first club title since the Coupe de France and the Champions Trophy with Olympique Lyonnais in 2012.
“After the defeat in the final against Columbus, it feels good. The supporters also deserve it, they pushed us all the way,” added the former Tottenham player, who paid tribute to Raphaël Varane, “a great man, a great gentleman, one of the legends of our sport,” who had announced his retirement earlier in the day. In the first half, Lloris made two saves (9th and 23rd) to keep the score at 0-0, Giroud hitting the goalkeeper after an offering from former Stéphanois Denis Bouanga (41st).
Giroud opened the scoring
Giroud, who joined LAFC from AC Milan in early August, finally opened the scoring with a 6-yard pass from Poland’s Mateusz Bogusz (53rd minute), his second goal in ten games with the black and gold (5th start), before coming off in the 67th minute. Kansas City, on a rare foray, quickly equalized with a powerful strike from Germany’s Erik Thommy (60th minute) grazed by Lloris, who arrived in Los Angeles at the start of the year, forcing the home team to extra time in BMO Stadium with its view of the San Gabriel Mountains.
Mexican Omar Campos put LAFC back in front with a fine right-footed strike from the edge of the box (102nd), before Sierra Leonean Kei Kamara added a header (109th). The US Open Cup, a competition that is over a century old, is open to professional and amateur clubs in the country. In the MLS championship, with five regular season matches still to play, LAFC is 4th in the Western Conference, in a good position to qualify for the play-offs.
