By Justin Ruderman
This Tuesday night at BMO Stadium LAFC hosts Mazatlán in a battle of two of the more surprising teams from last year's tournament. Both sides debut in 2025 with their sights set even higher after LAFC reached the finals and Mazatlán joined América as the only Liga MX clubs to play into the quarterfinals.
HEAD-TO-HEAD:
- 1st ever meeting
- Record at Leagues Cup: LAFC (7-3), Mazatlán (5-3)
LAST FIVE GAMES:
- LAFC: 3 Wins, 1 Draw, 1 Loss
- Two games winless after three consecutive victories
- Mazatlán: 1 Win, 1 Draw, 3 Losses
- Record of 3 Wins, 1 Draw, 2 Losses vs MLS teams since 2020 (all in Leagues Cup play)
- Have not won on the road since January 28 vs Puebla (2 Draws, 6 Wins on road since then)
MAIN STORYLINES:
- This is a matchup of adolescent clubs, as both teams are less than a decade old. LAFC debuted in MLS in 2018, while Mazatlán played their first official game in 2020 as the newest Liga MX club
- A finalist in last year’s competition, LAFC is aiming to return to the tournament final with a more satisfying end to their 2025 story
- In June, LAFC made their historic FIFA Club World Cup debut with an underwhelming one-point group stage. They will want to have a better showing in Leagues Cup
- Ahead of the new Apertura season, Mazatlán appointed experienced Liga MX manager Robert Siboldi as their new head coach to lead the club’s rebuild
- Last season, Mazatlán put together a Cinderella run to the Leagues Cup quarterfinals. Can they replicate the magic this year?
KEY FACTORS:
- LAFC:
- Denis Bouanga (12 goals) is the only person above Lionel Messi (10 goals) on the all-time Leagues Cup goalscoring charts and has no intention of handing over his title
- LAFC recently lost captain Aaron Long to a season-ending Achilles tear, forcing the Black & Gold to overcome a shorthanded defense until they sign another center back
- Harness the power of home-field advantage with the 3252 supporters’ section
- Mazatlán:
- Nicolas Benedetti checks every box for Mazatlán. Wearing No. 10 on his back, the captain was the club’s top scorer and top provider last season. He will be crucial to any Cañoneros success
- Chances are unlikely to come in bunches for Mazatlán but being more clinical than LAFC finishing those opportunities is their best route to victory
- Fresh and fit to start the season, Mazatlán must take advantage of their early-season energy against an LAFC team at the back end of their league season following an additionally grueling FIFA Club World Cup campaign
WHAT TO EXPECT?
Both of these sides found success in last year’s Leagues Cup, as Mazatlán unexpectedly reached the quarterfinal via a penalty shootout victory over Cruz Azul and LAFC made it all the way to the tournament final before falling 3-1 to the Crew in Columbus. Both will be aiming to build on those successes this time around.
Mazatlán will be doing so under the direction of new manager Robert Siboldi, who took over from Victor Manuel Vucetich ahead of the Apertura season. Boasting managerial experience at four other Liga MX clubs, coaching experience at five and trophies at three, Siboldi would love nothing more than to stamp his name in Cañoneros history just as he did by lifting the inaugural Leagues Cup 2019 with Cruz Azul.
In essentially the opposite scenario, this will be the final season at LAFC for head coach Steve Cherundolo as he plans to return to Germany with his family, where he spent his entire playing career. His tenure has already been quite successful, leading the Black & Gold to six finals and three trophies, including an MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield double in his debut season. Still, another piece of silverware certainly couldn’t hurt to pad his legacy.
As the home side, expect LAFC to control the majority of the ball among two teams who don’t particularly care about possession. Of course, Mazatlán would like to improve on their 34% average possession thus far this season, but it is the pressing ability and ruthless counterattacking rather than intricate buildup that has led to goals for Cañoneros this season, just like LAFC.
While Mazatlán may rely on their improving defensive solidity to hold off the Black & Gold fury, if we’re lucky, this similar clash of styles could instead lead to an end-to-end shootout. Tune in to find out as the pair kick off their respective Leagues Cup campaigns on Tuesday night at BMO Stadium.
