By Tony Álvarez
A stoppage-time goal from Hugo Cuypers gave CF Monterrey an important 2-1 victory over Nashville SC to keep the Liga MX side’s hopes of advancing to the Leagues Cup quarterfinals alive.
Rayados gave up the opening goal in the first minute when Ahmed Qasem struck for the hosts 21 seconds into the match. It marked the second-fastest goal in Leagues Cup history, as Alonso Martínez scored just 13 seconds in for New York City FC when they faced Columbus Crew on August 17, 2024.
But the Liga MX team was not going to be denied, as Diego Rossi set up Orbelin Pineda for the equalizer in the 52nd minute.
Two minutes into stoppage time, Diego Rossi delivered a cross to Lucas Ocampos on the left side of the box. Ocampos headed the ball toward Hugo Cuypers, who finished brilliantly with his right foot to beat the goalkeeper and seal the victory.
With this result, Rayados will wait for the remaining games to determine whether they have advanced to the Leagues Cup quarterfinals.
REACTIONS
- Monterrey Head Coach Matías Almeyda:
- “I have nothing but words of gratitude for this group, which is forging a good path; we may make some mistakes, but I value the intensity, the drive, the understanding of the game, and the desire to keep improving.”
- “We secured two very good victories against the first- and second-placed teams in this league, and I place special value on that; we did a great job representing the Mexican league.”
- Nashville Head Coach B.J. Callaghan
- “We had a good start clearly with a goal right off the kick and we thought that we could press the team and of course it was going to be tough with their style of play.”
- "We are not looking for any participation trophies out here, we put out teams that thought that could compete and the way we conceded was not the way we wanted and we need to be more result oriented."
PLAYERS OF THE MATCH
- Monterrey
- Hugo Cuypers scored his third goal in as many matches, securing the comeback victory and keeping Monterrey’s hopes for a place in the quarterfinals alive.
GAME NOTES
- Monterrey will wait for the rest of the results of the opening round to know if they’ve advanced to the quarterfinals.
- Nashville SC scored the second-fastest goal in Leagues Cup history.
- Hugo Cuypers scored in each of Monterrey’s Leagues Cup matches.
- Nashville SC has been eliminated from quarterfinal contention.
- After two matches between these two teams, each side has won one game.
CARDS/INJURY REPORT
- Yellow Cards:
- Monterrey: Jorge Rodríguez (23')
- Nashville: Alex Muyl (43'), Jack Maher (81')
LOOKING AHEAD
- Monterrey will await the remaining Phase One results to determine whether they have advanced to the quarterfinals. Rayados will host FC Juarez on August 15 in Liga MX.
- Nashville SC has been eliminated from contention and will play Inter Miami CF on August 15 as it returns to MLS action.
