This Saturday’s action in the Leagues Cup brought us plenty of excitement, spectacular comebacks, and a very painful elimination for one of Mexican soccer’s most popular teams.
Here’s a recap of an intense day of action:
The Tribute Wasn’t Enough: CF Monterrey 2-1 Inter Miami CF
On a deeply emotional night in Florida, Inter Miami paid a heartfelt tribute to the memory of Jorge Messi, father of its star player Lionel Messi, before kickoff. Unfortunately, the team was unable to repay the gesture with a victory on the field.
Although Argentine Rodrigo De Paul put Miami ahead with a spectacular goal in the 32nd minute, the Rayados fought back with great tenacity. Hugo Cuypers tied the score early in the second half, and in the dying moments of the match, Diego Rossi sealed the Mexican comeback with the winning goal in the 90th minute.
Roaring on the Road!: Club León 2-1 Orlando City SC
More great news for Liga MX came from Orlando. The “Fiera” showed character in bouncing back from a deficit to secure the road win. Marco Pašalić put the home team ahead in the 38th minute, but Juan Guevara managed to tie the game, and Daniel Arcila then completed the Esmeralda comeback by scoring the winning goal in the 72nd minute.
Rojiblanco Setback: FC Dallas 1-0 Chivas
The Rebaño Sagrado suffered yet another international setback and bids farewell to the Leagues Cup. Despite controlling the ball (they dominated with 67% possession), a lack of finishing and the outstanding performance of Texas goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois—who made five key saves—frustrated the Guadalajara side.
FC Dallas showed no mercy, and with a lone goal by Logan Farrington in the 73rd minute (assisted by Santiago Moreno), they sealed the victory that puts them at six points in the tournament, eliminating Chivas.
A Harsh Reality Check: Real Salt Lake 4-0 Atlante FC
Atlante completely fell apart and quickly forgot the great performance they had put on against Vancouver. Real Salt Lake ran roughshod over them with a decisive 4-0 rout.
Sergi Solans opened the scoring in the 17th minute, and Utah’s offense didn’t let up, adding three more goals in the second half to claim their first three points of the tournament and hand Miguel Herrera’s team its first loss.
LAFC KEEP FIGHTING’
Meanwhile, in the final match of the day in California, the game between LAFC and Toluca FC was extremely tight, with the score tied 0-0 for the majority of time at BMO Stadium. Colombian defender Eddie Segura scored a later winner to secure LAFC their first Leagues Cup victory of the tournament.
