Cruz Azul vs. LAFC - Concacaf Champions Cup Quarterfinals - Leg Two

With a spot in the Concacaf Champions Cup Semifinals on the line, LAFC travels to Puebla, Mexico, for the second leg of its Quarterfinal series against defending CCC champions Cruz Azul.

LAFC holds a 3-0 lead on aggregate goals in the two-game, home-and-away series, and would advance to the CCC Semifinals for the third time in club history with a win or a draw. LAFC would also advance if it loses the second leg by a score of 0-1, 0-2, 1-2, 1-3, or 1-4.

If Cruz Azul were to win Tuesday’s second leg 3-0—tying the series 3-3 on aggregate goals—the Quarterfinal would immediately move to two 15-minute periods of extra time to determine a winner, followed by penalty kicks if necessary.

In sum: despite LAFC’s current three-goal lead this series is far from over, especially with 90 minutes to be played against Cruz Azul, whose current roster is rich with talent and whose history is filled with trophies. The seven-time champions have played more matches, logged more wins, and scored more goals than any other Mexican team in this competition.

While confident in its own quality, LAFC knows the danger that trips to Mexico can bring. In this year’s Round of 16, San Diego FC took a 3-2 lead into its second leg against Deportivo Toluca before falling 4-0 and bowing out of the competition. Another MLS side, FC Cincinnati, led Tigres 3-0 after the first leg of their Round-of-16 series then got ambushed in the second leg, 5-1.

In last year’s Champions Cup Quarterfinals, LAFC built a 2-0 aggregate-goals advantage over Inter Miami during the second leg before three unanswered Miami goals sent LAFC home.

The good news: LAFC has scored in nine consecutive away matches in Concacaf Champions Cup, tying the longest such streak by an MLS club in the modern era (since 2008), alongside D.C. United (2009–2015).

NEXT ROUND

The winner of this LAFC-Cruz Azul Quarterfinal will face the winner of the Toluca-Galaxy Quarterfinal. Last week Toluca defeated the Galaxy 4-2 in their first leg in Mexico. The second leg is scheduled for Wednesday night, April 15, in Carson, Calif.

WHAT IS CONCACAF CHAMPIONS CUP

Concacaf Champions Cup is a 27-team continental tournament that takes place from February through May and features the top 27 teams in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. The winner of the CCC Final on May 30 earns a berth in the FIFA Club World Cup in 2029.

View the 2026 Champions Cup bracket

FIRST LEG RECAP

Goals from Son Heung-Min (30’) and David Martínez (39’, 58’) guided LAFC to a 3-0 win over Cruz Azul in the first leg last Tuesday, on a rare night in which roughly half of the fans at BMO Stadium were wearing the visitors’ colors—in this case the royal blue of Cruz Azul.

The clean sheet was the Black & Gold's second in five matches in this competition and its eighth clean sheet in 12 matches in all competitions this year. In five CCC matches in 2026, LAFC has a record of 4W-0L-1D and has outscored opponents 13-3.

LAFC’s midfield and its back line were superb in the first leg, with midfielder Mathieu Choinière logging two assists, but it was the playmaking of Son and the Man-of-the-Match performance by Martinez, who capped two lengthy dribbling runs with world-class finishes, that ruled the night.

Son has recorded six goal contributions in his five Concacaf Champions Cup appearances this year (two goals, four assists).

The first leg also marked the return of Cruz Azul goalkeeper Kevin Mier, who won the competition’s Goalkeeper of the Year award last year before breaking his leg in Liga MX play in November. The 25-year-old saved two of the five shots he faced against LAFC in the first leg. LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris saved all five of Cruz Azul’s shots on target.

SINCE LAST TUESDAY

After defeating Cruz Azul, LAFC traveled to Portland for an MLS regular-season match against the Timbers. LAFC head coach Marc Dos Santos made eight changes to his starting eleven and gave teenage midfielders Jude Terry and Matt Evans their first career starts, as a heavily-rotated Black & Gold side fell 2-1 on a late Portland goal at the 90+6’ mark.

That night, Cruz Azul played Club América to a 1-1 draw in a renewal of the emotional Clásico Joven rivalry between the two Liga MX giants. Cruz Azul head coach Nicolás Larcamón made four changes to the lineup that started against LAFC, inserting striker Nicolas Ibañez, winger Carlos Rotondi, defender Gonzalo Piovi, and goalkeeper Andrés Gudiño into his eleven. Former LAFC fullback Omar Campos scored for La Máchina at the 45+3’ mark to tie the match, but Cruz Azul could not find the winner.

Former LAFC winger Brian Rodriguez (who tallied eight MLS goals for the Black & Gold from 2019 to 2022) nearly scored twice for América but was denied by acrobatic saves from Gudiño.

Ibañez, the star striker acquired from Tigres earlier this year, left the game in the 38th minute with a lower body injury.

ABOUT ESTADIO CUAUHTÉMOC

With a capacity of 51,726, Estadio Cuauhtémoc is the fourth-largest football stadium in Mexico. Built during preparations for the 1968 Summer Olympics, the stadium is named after the Mexican brewery Cuauhtémoc-Moctezuma, and has hosted matches in the 1970 FIFA World Cup and the 1986 FIFA World Cup.

Estadio Cuauhtémoc is the longtime home of Liga MX side Club Puebla. Cruz Azul moved its home matches there in January due to scheduled renovations at its usual home in Mexico City, Estadio Azteca, which is 80 miles away.

LAFC CAN WIN IF

It scores a goal. So-called “away goals” are the tiebreaker in this competition, which in this case means that if LAFC were to score in Puebla on Tuesday night and lose the second leg 4-1, the Black & Gold would advance even though the series would be tied on aggregate goals, 4-4.

In other words, if LAFC scores a single goal in regulation time, Cruz Azul would need to score five goals to move on to the Semifinals. That’s a tall order against an LAFC team that has conceded five goals all year over 12 total matches.

CRUZ AZUL CAN WIN IF

A combination of altitude, attacking quality, and Concacaf craziness strikes. This competition—the entire confederation, really—has become notorious for its unlikely outcomes, offbeat narratives, and inconsistent playing environments. Estadio Cuauhtémoc is located about 7,200 feet above sea level—2,000 feet higher than the loftiest MLS stadium (Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Colorado). Foreign visitors have been known to struggle at that elevation over 90 minutes.

“You didn't see any wild celebrations because we know that this is only halftime,” Dos Santos said after LAFC’s win in the first leg. “We know how things can turn. I can tell you how Cincinnati felt before playing against Tigres, or how San Diego felt after beating Toluca. There is a second leg to be played in Mexico, and we haven't forgotten that.”

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