Backheel Breakfast: Mexican giant crushes MLS underdog in CCL again

CONCACAF Champions League is a bit of a silly competition, including a lot of rounds and teams no one cares about, a dumb qualifying process and a schedule that puts MLS teams at a distinct disadvantage. Really, it needs to get completely revamped or scrapped altogether. But it sure would have been cool if an MLS club could have won it anyway.

Instead, the Montreal Impact came up short in the final on Wednesday. Despite getting a scoring draw in Mexico City, nabbing the first goal at home and drawing over 60,000 very loud fans to the second leg, they were served up a heavy dose of reality by the Liga MX champions. Club America scored four times in the second half en route to a 5-3 aggregate victory, making them North American champions for a joint-best sixth time.

And with that, the so-called biggest night in Canadian soccer history ultimately meant nothing.

Here’s Nigel Pearson’s weird rant where he insults a journalist over a perfectly reasonable question. (Telegraph)

Ilkay Gundogan declined Borussia Dortmund’s offer of a new contract, so expect him to be sold this summer. (Bundesliga)

Gareth Bale is back in training and could play against Sevilla this weekend. (ESPN FC)

Liverpool fullback Jon Flanagan will have another knee surgery. (Guardian)

Andoni Iraola will leave Athletic Bilbao at the end of the season, presumably for a team outside of Europe. (AS)

Morgan Schneiderlin is out for the rest of the season. (BBC)

So is Bryan Oviedo. (Mirror)

Paolo Bandini on Filippo Inzaghi’s Milan tenure likely coming to an end shortly. (Guardian)

Barrie White interviewed Jim Bentley, Morecambe’s manager, and it’s enlightening. (The Set Pieces)

Gabriele Marcotti on how to improve the Europa League. (ESPN FC)

The section in which nothing should be taken seriously.

Paris Saint-Germain are making Angel Di Maria a top transfer target. (Mirror)

Tottenham want to beat the Premier League’s elite to Morgan Schneiderlin. (London Evening Standard)

Paulo Dybala might snub PSG and English clubs because he only wants to go to Juventus. (Football Italia)

Real Madrid were unimpressive, but beat Almeria comfortably.

Chelsea came back to beat Leicester, putting them one win from the title.

Rayo Vallecano vs. Valencia (2 p.m.) - Sevilla won easily on Wednesday, so the pressure’s on Valencia to match them.

Empoli vs. Napoli (2:45 p.m.) - Every game is a virtual must-win for Napoli to make Champions League.

Granada vs. Espanyol (4 p.m.) - Mostly inconsequential, though Granada could still escape the drop with some luck.