Paulinho hat-trick lifts Toluca over LA Galaxy in six-goal thriller | OneFootball

TOLUCA, Mexico – The 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup continued with Deportivo Toluca FC earning a 4-2 win over LA Galaxy in the First Leg of their Quarterfinals series on Wednesday at Estadio Nemesio Díez in Toluca, Mexico.

Nicolás Castro struck the opening goal for the hosts in the 12’, bringing down a spectacular long pass over the top from Federico Pereira before slotting the ball at the bottom-left corner. 

Toluca doubled its lead in the 43’ through Paulinho. Helinho found Jesús Angulo down the right side of the box, where he set up Paulinho to strike from the center with a right-footed finish.

Gabriel Pec shortened the deficit for the Galaxy in the 66’, capitalizing on a threaded ball from Marco Reus with a finish from a tight angle on the right side of the box. The goal took Pec’s tally to six as he continues leading the race for the Top Scorer Award.

Paulinho picked up a loose ball following a defensive intervention in the 73’ to score with a first-time finish to the bottom-left corner, and restore the two-goal lead for the hosts.

Marco Reus found the back of the net from close range in the 77’ for the Galaxy’s second goal. Julián Aude recovered possession inside the box before providing the assist on the play.

Paulinho sealed his hat-trick and the victory for Toluca in the 85’, with a strike from inside the penalty box.

The two sides will meet again in the Second Leg next Wednesday at Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles, California, USA. The winner on aggregate will advance to the Semifinals.

Post Match – Data 

Nicolás Castro’s opening goal against LA Galaxy (11:03) was Toluca’s earliest goal in the Concacaf Champions Cup since Mauricio Isaís scored at 4:51 against Herediano in 2024.

Marco Reus entered the match in the 58th minute and recorded his first assist in the Concacaf Champions Cup at 66’, followed by his first goal at 77’. The German was also one of five LA Galaxy players to register a key pass in the match.

Jesús Angulo has been involved in a goal in all three of his home matches with Toluca in the Concacaf Champions Cup, scoring against Herediano in 2024, scoring twice against San Diego FC in the Round of 16 this year, and providing an assist against LA Galaxy tonight.

Gabriel Pec has scored six goals in his last three appearances in the Concacaf Champions Cup for LA Galaxy. He is one of two players to score at least six goals across a span of three appearances in the competition over the last decade, joining Salomón Rondón, who achieved the feat with Pachuca in 2024.

Paulinho has been directly involved in at least one goal in each of his last seven home matches for Toluca across all competitions, including scoring a hat-trick tonight (7 goals, 2 assists).

Paulinho is the fourth different player to score a hat-trick in this year’s Concacaf Champions Cup (Luka Romero for Cruz Azul, Denis Bouanga for LAFC, and Gabriel Pec for LA Galaxy), the highest number of players with a hat-trick in a single edition of the competition since at least the 2016-17 season.

Marco Reus became the first LA Galaxy player to record both a goal and an assist as a substitute in a Concacaf Champions Cup match since Robbie Keane (2 goals, 1 assist vs. Comunicaciones) in 2015.