Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) drew 1-1 with defending champions Cruz Azul in the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal second leg, advancing 4-1 on aggregate. South Korean star Son Heung-min played the full match but did not contribute to scoring. LAFC, who won the first leg 3-0 with Son's opening goal, held firm in Puebla, Mexico.
Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) played defending champions Cruz Azul to a 1-1 draw in the second leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals at Estadio Cuauhtemoc in Puebla, Mexico, on Tuesday local time. After a 3-0 first-leg win in Los Angeles last week, LAFC advanced on a 4-1 aggregate.
Son Heung-min started and played the full 90 minutes but did not factor into the scoring. He had netted his team's first goal in the opening leg. Cruz Azul's Gabriel Fernandez scored from the penalty spot in the 18th minute, but Denis Bouanga equalized with a late penalty for LAFC.
Despite being outshot badly—Cruz Azul had 31 attempts and 10 on target to LAFC's six and one—LAFC held on. Head coach Marc Dos Santos said, "I know we eliminated a great club, a great champion... Qualifying was tough. Now there are no favorites. Everyone who makes it to the semifinals is strong."
In the semifinals, LAFC faces the winner of Deportivo Toluca FC and LA Galaxy, with Toluca leading 4-2 after the first leg and the return on Wednesday. This marks LAFC's third semifinal appearance since 2020 and 2023, the only MLS club to reach three.
