LAFC earned a hard-fought, 2-1 victory over previously undefeated Tigres in the club’s third and final game of Phase One of Leagues Cup 2025 on Tuesday night at BMO Stadium. David Martínez scored on either side of halftime, and the LAFC defense withstood a barrage over the final 15 minutes to secure the victory.
With the win, LAFC moves into fourth place in the MLS standings for Leagues Cup with a 1-0-2 record for six points. The Black & Gold will have to wait for the rest of Phase One to be completed in order to see if the team advances to the Leagues Cup Quarterfinals for the third consecutive year.
For the third game running, LAFC made seven changes to its starting lineup from the previous game, a 1-1 draw with Pachuca on Friday night. After 33 minutes, head coach Steve Cherundolo was forced to make another change with Timothy Tillman entering the game in place of the injured Jeremy Ebobisse. Two minutes later, Tillman was taken down in the box by Fernando Gorriarán, giving LAFC a penalty kick that Martínez dispatched past the dive of Tigres goalkeeper Nahuel Guzmán to give the Black & Gold a 1-0 lead.
Tigres equalized two minutes into the second half when Iván López, who came on at the break, headed a Juan Brunetta free kick past Thomas Hasal, tying the score at 1-1.
LAFC went back in front in the 64th minute when Martínez got his second of the game in spectacular fashion. Artem Smolyakov evaded a pair of defenders near midfield and played a pass down the left wing for Martínez, who raced onto the ball and dribbled into the box. Holding off the challenge of a Tigres defender, he slid a shot under Guzmán for his second goal of the game and third of the competition, giving LAFC a 2-1 lead.
Knowing that a draw would all but guarantee them a spot in the Leagues Cup Quarterfinals, Tigres threw numbers forward over the final 15 minutes in search of an equalizer. The Mexican side produced seven shots from the 76th minute on but was unable to find a tying goal as the Black & Gold held on for the victory.
LAFC returns to MLS action on Saturday, August 9 when the club hits the road to take on the Chicago Fire at SeatGeek Stadium. That game is scheduled to kick off at 5:30 p.m. PT and can be seen live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, with radio coverage available on 710 AM ESPN, the ESPN LA app, and 980 AM La Mera Mera.
NOTES
- With the win, LAFC is now 8-2-3 all-time in Leagues Cup, including a 3-1-2 mark against Liga MX opposition.
- LAFC finishes Phase One with a 1-0-2 record for six points, taking three points tonight in addition to the two points it earned from the shootout win over Pachuca on Friday night and one point from the shootout loss to Mazatlan last week.
- In 14 games against Liga MX clubs in official competition (Leagues Cup, the Concacaf Champions Cup, Campeones Cup and FIFA Club World Cup Play-In Game), LAFC is 7-5-3, including a 1-1-1 mark against Tigres.
- LAFC is now 13-3-4 at home in all competitions this year. The club is now 1-0-2 in Leagues Cup, in addition to home records of 3-0-0 in the Concacaf Champions Cup and 8-3-2 in the MLS Regular Season, as well as winning the FIFA Club World Cup Play-In Game against Club América.
- For the third consecutive game, LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo made seven changes to his starting lineup.
- Ryan Raposo started his first-ever game for LAFC, while new signing Mathieu Choinière made his LAFC debut, coming on at halftime for Yaw Yeboah.
- Sergi Palencia played the full 90 minutes. He is the only player to appear in all 13 Leagues Cup games in LAFC’s history.
- David Martínez scored both LAFC goals in the game, giving him a team-best three in Leagues Cup this year and six in all competitions. His first goal of the game was the 10th of his LAFC career.
- Martinez is tied for third with three goals in Leagues Cup 2025, one behind Paulinho and Angel Correa for the tournament lead.
- He is the fourth player in LAFC history to record a multi-goal game in Leagues Cup, joining Denis Bouanga, Cristian Olivera, and Carlos Vela.
- Artem Smolyakov was credited with the assist on Martinez’s game-winning goal. That was his first assist in an LAFC shirt.
