Liga MX Dominates MLS Again on Another Miserable Night in Mexico | OneFootball

And then there were six.

The second, third and fourth MLS teams to be eliminated from the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup came on a Tuesday night that reinforced the continuing dominance of Liga MX in the region's top club competition.

The Seattle Sounders and FC Cincinnati both had little room for error after drawing their first legs, but in the end couldn't even put a serious scare into their Mexican opposition.

First it was the Sounders who fell 4-1 on the night at Cruz Azul (and also 4-1 on aggregate). Then it was Cincy's turn to get romped before a rabid Mexican crowd, falling 3-1 to Tigres UANL (and 4-2 on aggregate).

And although Seattle and Cincinnati might not be considered the strongest MLS entrants in this year's field -- that honor probably belongs to Inter Miami and LAFC -- their losses still felt like painful opportunities missed.

That these were two squads reknowned for their defenses just added to the twist of the knife on an occasion that felt like so many others over the course of Liga MX's two-decade dominance in this competition.

A clumsy penalty

Seattle in particular gave up an MLS-best 35 goals last season, and Cincy was on a similar pace until injuries in the back complicated matters. Yet both looked woefully overmatched in the rearguard as time wore on in their Tuesday matches.

Seattle self-destructed when Paul Rothrock yielded a very clumsy penalty by charging into Erik Lira from behind. Angel Supulveda converted from the spot to make it 2-0 in the 71st minute, and while the Sounders pulled a goal back from a corner a few minutes later, the Sounders got caught twice more in the dying stages.

Another lead lost

Meanwhile, Cincinnati gave back the lead for the second time in the tie after Evander's early goal gave the visitors a 2-1 aggregate lead.

Cincy continued to look strong into the break, but it took only a nine-minute stretch of the second half for Tigres to turn their deficit into a two-goal advantage and send the Estadio Universitario crowd into delirium.

Pat Noonan can at least take solace in the fact that his squad escaped Nueva Leon more or less healthy. Brian Schmetzer was not so lucky, with Jordan Morris and Paul Arrioal both exiting due to non-contact injuries.

LAFC fends off a scare

The Columbus Crew were the third side to crash out of Concacaf Tuesday, winning 2-1 in Leg 2 of their series against LAFC but falling 4-2 on aggregate.

The Crew had clawed two goals back at one point, but were denied a third by some brilliant goalkeeping from Hugo Lloris after halftime. Denis Bouanga's goal on the counter in second-half stoppage time put matters well and truly out of reach.