By Justin Ruderman
The first major Leagues Cupset has arrived.
Mazatlán exemplified resilience in their Leagues Cup opener, overcoming few chances and even less of the ball to beat LAFC (11) 1-1 (10) in an extended penalty shootout.
From the moment the ball was kicked off, the home side dominated possession while creating the vast majority of chances. Venezuelan phenom David Martínez was a handful for Mazatlán with his blistering speed and constant goalbound intention, hitting the bar before opening the scoring with a deft chip over Ricardo Rodríguez.
The pressure paid off and surely the dam had broken, right? Wrong.
Recent striker acquisition Fábio Gomes - the only player to remain in the starting XI from their last match - scored his first Cañoneros goal two minutes later to level the match heading into halftime despite the lopsided game flow.
That field tilt wouldn’t change in the second half with the game being played in Mazatlán’s half, yet the visitors managed to stifle LAFC and take the game to penalties deadlocked at 1-1.
In the shootout, Los Cañoneros finished the job. Entering the 12th round of penalties with only one miss each, all-time Leagues Cup leading scorer Denis Bouanga skied his penalty to hand Mazatlán the penalty shootout victory, and an extra point in the table.
REACTIONS
- Robert Siboldi, Mazatlán head coach:
- “I have never experienced such a long penalty kick round, to even repeat all of our roster. Each of them went to the key penalty kicks with a lot of emotion, a lot of adrenaline, and a big confidence because they have a very good technique, very good technical capabilities to make those kicks. And we enjoyed it a lot. It was very intense,” said Mazatlán head coach Robert Siboldi.
- Steve Cherundolo, LAFC head coach:
- “Kind of regardless of what our opponent does, any surprises shouldn't really throw us off our game. We should have solutions, and I saw that tonight. I think our guys reacted very, very well and found solutions, just couldn't come up with one more play to finish the game off,” said LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo.
PLAYERS OF THE MATCH:
- LAFC:
- David Martínez: The teenager produced a cheeky chip to put LAFC in front
- Mazatlán:
- Fábio Gomes: Took one shot in the game and scored his first goal as a member of Liga MX
GAME NOTES:
- David Martínez scored his first Leagues Cup goal in his second season appearing in the tournament
- Fábio Gomes’ 31st-minute equalizer was his first goal for Mazatlán in his second match since arriving from Bolivar
- Despite having less possession (43% to 57%), fewer shots (8 to 15) and fewer expected goals (0.5 to 2.2), Los Cañoneros found a way to win.
- No MLS team was able to earn a regulation win on Matchday 1 of Leagues Cup 2025
- Mazatlán improves their Leagues Cup penalty record to 3-1; LAFC falls to 1-2
CARDS/INJURY REPORT:
- Yellow Cards:
- LAFC: Yaw Yeboah
LOOKING AHEAD:
- Next up for LAFC, the Black & Gold host Pachuca back at BMO Stadium on Friday
- Mazatlán will travel to Houston on Friday for a matchup with the Dynamo
