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 off with goals and 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, which prevailed in that round.

Chivas showed intensity and directness 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 took the lead with their first dangerous play of the match shortly before halftime; however, Mexico’s most popular and beloved team hit back immediately and leveled the score a couple of minutes later.

The second half followed the same pattern, with the Red-and-White 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 the team will fly to San Jose this Thursday, where it will face FC Dallas on Saturday at PayPal Park in its second tournament match.

The goals- The home side struck at 37’, when Tillman played Martinez down the right flank, 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 ‘Piojo’ one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and he finished with a left-footed cross-shot that hit the base of the right post and went into the net.

The dangerous chances:- In the 9th minute, Omar Govea tried his luck from mid-range 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 ‘Piojo’ with an advantage against the goalkeeper, but Porteous recovered and poked the ball out for a corner to prevent the shot on goal.

- In the 21st minute, Govea won the ball back during LAFC’s buildup and laid it off to Álvarez, who, without hesitation, tried to surprise everyone with a rocket that flew over the crossbar.

- In the 29th minute, Efraín broke away at full speed and, upon reaching the final third, threaded a pass between the lines that ‘Hormiga’ hit first time, although it went over the goal.

- In the 49th minute, the Herd moved the ball around the LAFC box until Alvarado found space to shoot, but the goalkeeper held onto the missile.

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

- In the 59th minute, Álvarez pulled the trigger again from the top of the arc, but with no luck.

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

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

- In the 74th minute, ‘Tala’ Rangel came up huge in goal, getting fingertips to a free kick that threatened to sneak in just inside 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 (YC 80’), 7 Luis Romo, 5 Bryan González, 28 Rubén González (YC 12’), 6 Omar Govea, 10 Efraín Álvarez (11 Brian Gutiérrez 70’), 25 Roberto Alvarado and 34 Armando González.Head coach: Gabriel Milito (YC 14’)

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