⏪ Leagues Cup: Columbus blitz Puebla; NYCFC oust León | OneFootball

The 2025 Leagues Cup continued in the wake of a historic night, with plenty of action on the docket as MLS and Liga MX square off in this entertaining competitive sidebar.

Here is how the action broke down across the first two fixtures on the night.

Early blitz sees Columbus oust Puebla

Scorers: Amundsen 14’, Rossi 16’, Herrera 39’; Lozano 45+1’

Columbus exacted revenge for MLS against Liga MX outfit Puebla as the competition holders fought to a 3-1 win in their second match of the Leagues Cup.

The Crew got off to the perfect start on the night courtesy of a brace of quick-fire goals inside the opening 15 minutes in front of home support in Ohio.

An opening goal from center-back Malte Amundsen would set up Wilfried Nancy’s men for a three-point platform at Lower.com Field before a second from star man Diego Rossi doubled their advantage two minutes later.

Columbus was not done padding their goal tally before the half-time interval, though, with a third goal coming in the 39th minute through Andrés Herrera to put the result out of sight for the Eastern Conference powerhouse.

Puebla would pull a goal back on the stroke of halftime to set the stage for a potential second-half comeback thanks to a stoppage-time goal from Esteban Lozano, but there would be no dramatic finish before the full-time whistle, with Puebla failing to build on their opening win three nights prior.

Martínez remains hot in vital Pigeons win

Scorers: Martínez 7', Ojeda 32'

Pascal Jansen's NYCFC finally got off the mark in the Leagues Cup with a comfortable 2-0 win over Liga MX outfit León.

Alonso Martínez continued his recent goalscoring form with a tap-in finish from inside the six-yard box, after getting on the end of Justin Haak's flicked header from a corner in the seventh minute.

A fantastic team goal would see Agustín Ojeda convert from close range just after the half-hour mark to make it 2-0 when he turned home a cut-back ball from Martínez to bag his first goal of 2025.

León had a golden chance to get back in the thick of the fight in the 58th minute when Los Panzas Verdes were awarded a penalty for a handball in the box by Strahinja Tanasijević.

Matt Freese had other ideas, however, coming up with a huge save to deny James Rodríguez from the spot to keep the scoreline as it stood while guaranteeing a three-point haul that would pull them out of the basement in the league phase of the competition.

📸 Editorial Photo Credit: © Adam Cairns/Columbus | 2025 Aug 1 - Imagn Images