Around Leagues Cup: Matchday 2
The Fire’s comeback win against Minnesota is obviously my favorite result so far, however, St. Louis CITY getting crushed by Club América 4-0 has to be a close second. Besides that, Toluca earned a hard-fought 4-3 win against Nashville, A Brandon Vázquez hattrick led Cincinnati to a 3-1 win against Chivas, and the Union beat Querétaro 5-1. Here is a recap of some of the competition’s most memorable moments in week one.
Were América Home or Away?
In one of Leagues Cup’s most anticipated group-stage matchups, St. Louis CITY hosted Club América facing an exit from the group stage if they did not get a result. Not only did they lose, but they lost 4-0 with almost every goal stemming from extremely poor defending. Henry Martín opened the scoring just five minutes in after América strung together some wonderful one-touch passing, Julián Quińones and Kevin Álvarez each grabbed a goal just three minutes apart from each other, and the USMNT’s Alejandro Zendejas finished off the game in the 77th minute. Las Águilas outpossessed St. Louis 62% to 38% and vastly outshot them as well. For a side that boasts their attendance so frequently, those streaks of yellow amongst the red made a big difference.
https://twitter.com/LeaguesCup/status/1684774972609134592?s=20
Red is a Common Sight for Nashville
That title can be either interpreted to highlight Nashville’s recent addiction to red cards or that they play a lot of teams with red in their branding. Regardless, Los Diablos Rojos came out of Geodis with three points after beating Nashville 4-3. Walker Zimmerman first scored in the third minute, but Marcel Ruiz equalized in the 27th minute. Fafá Picault and Marcel Ruiz again scored seven minutes away from each other, but Tiago Volpi grabbed a goal of his own to put Toluca up going into halftime. Robert Morales scored in the 61st minute to put his side up 4-2, and it seemed like a comeback was on when Luke Haakenson scored in the 70th minute, however, a Teal Bunbury red card put an end to those hopes, with the match ending at 4-3 in favor of Toluca. Bunbury’s red meant it was Nashville’s fifth send-off in just six games across all competitions, further supplementing the idea that discipline is an issue for music city.
https://twitter.com/TolucaFC/status/1684765246504787968?s=20
Vasquez Anotó Tres Goles Sobre las Chivas
Major League Soccer’s current Supporters Shield frontrunners FC Cincinnati beat Chivas Guadalajara 3-1, with the Liga MX side conceding all of their goals to their former transfer target Brandon Vázquez. Vázquez scored twice within the first eight minutes of the match to set the tone early. Right before halftime, Guadalajara’s Gilberto Sepúlveda was shown red to force his side down to 10 men, however a goal from Antonio Briseño in the 60th minute saw a faint glimpse of getting back in the game, however, Vázquez completed his hattrick 13 minutes later to put the game at 3-1. With this result, Chivas could be on a possible collision course wiith the Fire, making it the first time former CF97 Veljko Paunović has coached against his old club.
https://twitter.com/fccincinnati/status/1684722648532574208?s=20
Dániel Gazdag Eggs the Roosters
The Philadelphia Union hosted and beat Querétaro F.C. 5-1 largely in part due to a hattrick from the man in the title. Gazdag completed his hattrick alongside a goal from Nathan Harriel before the White Roosters got serious and scored a goal, coming from Raúl Sandoval in the 84th minute. Although the goal already meant not much, Jack McGlynn stepped up to score a banger to cap the game off with a 5-1 scoreline. Philadelphia have automatically qualified for the next round as they have beat both Querétaro and Club Tijuana, therefore whoever comes out on top between the Mexican sides advances as well.
https://twitter.com/PhilaUnion/status/1684379637776785408?s=20
