FC Cincinnati were 2-0 up against Chivas de Guadalajara on Thursday evening and were on their way to sealing their spot in the Leagues Cup 2023 Playoffs, when a thunderstorm saw the game suspended. The teams resumsed play this Friday at 2pm ET (Midday in Mexico City). In the remaining half hour, Cincinnati saw out the result, and ended up winning 3-1. Brandon Vázquez scored a hat-trick to carry on his impressive run of form.
Chicago Fire made their Leagues Cup debut with a thrilling win over Minnesota United FC. They did it in an entertaining manner in a game in which we witnessed 5 goals, finishing up with a 3-2 result in favor of the Chicago team.
The 5 goals came in a 21 minute span, from 62' to 83'. The scorers were Bongokuhle Hlongwane (62' and 73') for Minnesota and Xerdan Shaquiri (69') Arnaud Souqet (79') and Kei Kamara (83') for Chicago Fire.
With this result, Chicago Fire moved into first place in Central Group 2 and only need a draw against Club Puebla on Monday 31 July to secure their place in the next round.
Toluca FC kicked off their tournament with a key win over Nashville SC in Central 4 of this Leagues Cup 2023 and played out one of the best games of the competition so far.
There was a frenetic pace to the game, which saw the Mexican side win 4-3 despite twice being behind in the first half.
Walker Zimmerman opened the scoring in the third minute for the MLS side with a headed effort, before 22-year-old Marcel Ruíz equalized after 27 minutes played. Nashville were not to be denied, and ten minutes later Fafa Picault capitalized on a lethal counter-attack to make it 2-1 to the MLS side.
When everything looked like it was going to be quiet just before half-time, the Diablos Rojos turned the result around in the last minutes of the first half: first Marcel Ruíz scored once more and then a penalty was given for handball in the box. Up stepped goalkeeper Tiago Volpi to convert his third goal of the season, becoming his side’s top scorer in the process.
The second half saw less goal-action, but the excitement was not lacking. Robert Morales made it 4-2 for Toluca in the 61st minute and in the 70th minute Luke Haakenson scored for Nashville to make it 4-3.
There was a feisty atmosphere on the pitch that kept the contest open until the end, but also saw a second yellow for Teal Bunbury who was sent off. This hindered the chances for any remarkable leveler from Nashville, as the Mexican team saw out the match and took all three points. They are now in a good position to qualify for the next round of the tournament.
The Águilas kicked off their Leagues Cup campaign this Thursday with a convincing 4-0 win over St. Louis CITY, booking their spot in the Round of 32. Henry Martín would break the deadlock after five minutes from an assist by Julián Quiñones.
Although the Mexican side would go on to have several chances to double their lead, it wasn’t until the 51st minute that they managed to do so as Quiñones found the back of the net himself. Three minutes later, Kevin Álvarez would add a third.
After a dominant performance, Alex Zendejas would score the fourth goal of the night to seal the result, and put SC Club América through to the knockout stage. Meanwhile, St. Louis CITY were knocked out of the competition, having already lost to Columbus Crew in their opening game.
