Leagues Cup Round-of-16 Roundup: Crew Eliminate Defending Champ Miami

Columbus Crew forward Cucho Hernandez (9) kicks the ball past Inter Miami CF defender Tomas Aviles (6) during the first half of the Leagues Cup round of 16 game in Columbus, Ohio, on Aug. 13, 2024. (Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch/USA TODAY NETWORK)

Diego Rossi scored a second-half brace and the host Columbus Crew rallied from two goals down to earn a 3–2 Leagues Cup round-of-16 victory over defending tournament champions Inter Miami on Tuesday night, August 13.

Christian Ramirez also scored to begin the reigning MLS Cup champions’ comeback, which was completed in the space of 14 minutes to secure a home quarterfinal against New York City FC on Saturday. The Crew are looking to reach a second major continental final in 2024 after finishing runner-up in the CONCACAF Champions Cup in June.

Diego Gomez assisted the first goal and scored the second for Miami, which played its 11th consecutive competitive fixture without injured star Lionel Messi. Matias Rojas scored his fourth goal of the tournament to give the Herons an early lead.

However, after Gomez doubled the advantage in the 62nd minute following a slick give-and-go with Luis Suarez, Columbus rapidly turned the match in its favor.

Ramirez headed in Max Arfsten’s cross in the 67th minute and Rossi finished a neat half-volley from Cucho Hernandez’s looping service two minutes later. Then Rossi completed his brace with the 80th-minute winner, a low, driven shot set up by Mo Farsi’s cleverly slotted pass.

Club America 4, St. Louis City 2

Brian Rodriguez completed his brace with an 86th-minute, go-ahead penalty kick and America rallied to avoid a major upset against St. Louis City in a match played at Carson, Calif.

Diego Valdes headed in America’s equalizer seven minutes earlier, set up by substitute Richard Sanchez’s excellent cross from the right. Valdes had assisted Rodriguez’s first goal in the 15th minute. Rodrigo Aguirre added a very late insurance goal as America sealed a quarterfinal meeting against the Colorado Rapids.

St. Louis took a 2–1 lead early in the second half after Indiana Vassilev leveled in the 49th minute and Eduard Lowen converted from the penalty spot six minutes later. But Club America piled on the pressure to find a deserved leveler, then ensured their progress after St. Louis defender Tomas Totland was rightly cited for handling the ball in his own penalty area.

Rapids 2, Toluca 1

Darren Yappi scored in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time in the final late dramatic turn of Colorado’s victory over Toluca at Commerce City, Colo.

Yappi poked in a loose ball from very close range—created by a failed attempt to clear Djordje Mihailovic’s low cross—after Mihailovic had his own apparent game-winner five minutes earlier ruled out via VAR for being offside in the buildup. Rafael Navarro scored late in the first half for the Rapids.

Toluca’s Paulinho leveled the match in the 83rd minute on a stunning backheel finish, using his trailing foot to redirect Jesus Gallardo’s low cross from the left into the bottom right corner. But Toluca could not extend its tournament despite leading Colorado 21–4 in shots and 6–2 in efforts on target.

Union 4, FC Cincinnati 2

Tai Baribo continued his barrage with his fourth and fifth goals of the tournament to lift Philadelphia to a big away win over the defending MLS Supporters’ Shield winners.

Quinn Sullivan scored and had an assist late for the Union, who will host Mazatlan in their quarterfinal, and Mikael Uhre scored early. Pavel Bucha and DeAndre Yedlin scored second-half goals for Cincinnati to briefly erase a two-goal deficit.

However, only a minute after Yedlin’s 80th-minute equalizer, Baribo scored his second when he took Sullivan’s low cross from the right and hit a first-time, right-footed shot across his body and into the bottom left corner. Sullivan added insurance in the 84th minute when he rebounded his own miss and—with the help of a deflection—finished from about 15 yards out.

Mazatlan 2 (3), Cruz Azul 2 (1)

Ricardo Gutierrez saved two penalties to send Mazatlan through despite a late-second-half collapse against 10-man Cruz Azul in a game played in Washington.

Uriel Antuna got Cruz Azul on the board in the 84th minute, and then Willer Ditta headed home Andres Montano’s long diagonal free kick in the first minute of second-half stoppage time. But Gutierrez guessed correctly to deny both Antuna and Ditta during the shootout before Giorgos Giakoumakis struck the upright for Cruz Azul to seal Mazatlan’s shootout win.

Yoel Barcenas scored for a second consecutive game for Mazatlan after Bryan Colula opened the scoring. Both goals came late in the first half, before Cruz Azul’s Gonzalo Piovi picked up his second booking and was dismissed early in the second.

NYCFC 2, Tigres UANL 1

New York City FC secured its meeting with Columbus with its own comeback victory over a visiting Tigres side that exited the tournament in the round of 16 for a second straight year.

Maxi Moralez had a goal and an assist for NYCFC, and Santiago Rodriguez scored the winner in the 65th minute on a turnover that was created when Tigres tried to take a free kick quickly.

Rodriguez stepped in the way of the restart to intercept, then quickly dribbled forward, played a give-and-go with Moralez in the penalty area, and then drove a low finish past goalkeeper Nahuel Guzman. It was the Uruguayan’s third goal in as many tournament games.

Los Angeles FC 4, Earthquakes 1

Denis Bouanga scored his third and fourth goals of the tournament as the host Black and Gold cruised into the quarterfinals against their California rivals.

LAFC forward Denis Bouanga (99) dribbles against defenders in a match against the San Jose Earthquakes in Los Angeles on August 13, 2024. (Courtesy of Los Angeles FC via The Epoch Times)

Cristian Olivera added his fourth goal of the competition and Mateusz Bogusz had his second for LAFC, which is looking to better its 2023 performance when it was eliminated at the quarterfinal stage by Monterrey.

France all-time leading scorer Olivier Giroud made his LAFC debut in the 71st minute as Olivera’s replacement, and he could see more minutes in LAFC’s quarterfinal against Seattle.

LAFC forward Olivier Giroud (9) enters the match as substitute for (C) against the San Jose Earthquakes in Los Angeles on Aug. 13, 2024. (Courtesy of Los Angeles FC via The Epoch Times)

Hernan Lopez scored his second of the tournament to briefly pull San Jose level in the 41st minute before Bouanga answered from the penalty spot with his first goal in first-half stoppage time.