Chivas draw with LAFC in the Leagues Cup 2026 opener | OneFootball

Los Angeles, California.- Guadalajara turned in a strong footballing performance that unfortunately they could not cap with goals, and they ended up drawing 1-1 with LAFC on Wednesday night at BMO Stadium in their first match of the 2026 Leagues Cup. The extra point awarded by the binational tournament through the penalty shootout went to the home side, who prevailed in that round.

Chivas showed intensity and direct play to create several dangerous chances throughout the 90 minutes; however, they lacked precision in front of goal and could not reflect their superiority on the scoreboard. The Angelenos went ahead on their first dangerous play of the match shortly before halftime; however, Mexico’s most popular and beloved team struck back immediately and leveled the score a couple of minutes later.

The second half followed the same pattern, with the Rojiblanco side controlling the flow of the match, while the Black & Gold struggled to string together long spells of possession and had to settle for quick bursts forward to keep things even. Guadalajara has no time to dwell on it, as they will fly to San Jose this Thursday, where they will face FC Dallas on Saturday at PayPal Park in their second tournament match.

The goals- The home side struck at the 37th minute, when Tillman played Martinez down the right wing, and he sent a low cross into the heart of the box that Bouanga pushed into the net.- CHIVAS RESPONDED IMMEDIATELY! In the 41st minute, ‘Cotorro’ brought down a long switch of play near the touchline, then cut inside and slipped the ball through to leave the ‘Piojo’ one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and he finished with a left-footed shot across goal that hit the base of the right post and went in.

The dangerous chances:- In the 9th minute, Omar Govea tried his luck from distance after shaking off his marker near the edge of the box, but his shot went straight into the goalkeeper’s hands.

- In the 13th minute, a long ball from midfield left the ‘Piojo’ in front of the goalkeeper, but Porteous recovered and poked the ball out for a corner to prevent the shot.

- In the 21st minute, Govea won the ball off the Angelenos as they played out from the back and laid it off to Álvarez, who, without hesitation, tried to surprise with a thunderous shot that sailed over the crossbar.

- In the 29th minute, Efraín burst forward at full speed and, upon reaching the final third, played a through ball that the ‘Hormiga’ hit first time, although over the bar.

- In the 49th minute, the Rebaño moved the ball around the LAFC area until Alvarado found space to shoot, but the goalkeeper held onto the rocket.

- In the 53rd minute, Efraín nearly clipped the crossbar! After a free kick struck the wall, ‘Efra’ hit it first time and his powerful shot skimmed the woodwork.

- In the 59th minute, Álvarez pulled the trigger again from the top of the arc, but without luck.

- In the 69th minute, Castillo combined on the left wing with ‘Cotorro’, who delivered a cross that the defense cleared just before the ‘Hormiga’ could tap it into the net.

- In the 70th minute, Richy played a low diagonal ball across that the ‘Oso’ struck powerfully, but the ball crashed off the crossbar.

- In the 74th minute, ‘Tala’ Rangel came up huge in goal to get his fingertips to a free kick that threatened to sneak in near the base of the left post.

Los Angeles FC 1(5)-(4)1 Guadalajara(Dénis Bouanga 37’)(Roberto Alvarado 41’)Referee: César Arturo RamosBMO Stadium

Penalty shootout:LAFC: (5)Guadalajara: (4)

Lineups:- LAFC: 12 Thomas Hasal, 5 Ryan Porteous, 23 Yevhen Cheberko, 24 Ryan Hollingshead, 91 Nkosi Burgess, 8 Marco Delgado, 11 Timothy Tillman, 66 Mathieu Choiniere, 7 Heung Son, 30 David Martinez and 99 Dénis Bouanga.Head Coach: Marc Dos Santos.

- Guadalajara: 1 Raúl Rangel, 37 Richard Ledezma, 2 José Castillo, 23 Daniel Aguirre (sent off at 80’), 7 Luis Romo, 5 Bryan González, 28 Rubén González (sent off at 12’), 6 Omar Govea, 10 Efraín Álvarez (11 Brian Gutiérrez at 70’), 25 Roberto Alvarado and 34 Armando González.Head Coach: Gabriel Milito (sent off at 14’)

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.