The four Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs defeated Liga MX clubs in their quarterfinal matches to book their place in the Leagues Cup semifinals.
Inter Miami, without the injured Lionel Messi, defeated Tigres UANL 2-1 in a round of eight match that was decided by a brace from Uruguay’s Luis Suárez.
Suárez was the star of a Miami team that did not have Messi in the squad and still beat the felines, with one of the best squads in Mexico.
For the UANL side, Argentine world champion Ángel Correa scored, the top scorer in the Leagues Cup 2025.
The match had a heart-stopping finish. The first half ended 1-0 in favor of the Americans, who took the lead in the 23rd minute with Luis Suarez’s first goal.
In the second half, Tigres grew to the point that they trapped Inter Miami in their own half, which allowed Correa to score and when everything pointed to the felines scoring once again, a handball in the area by a defender allowed the Uruguayan striker to seal the 2-1 victory.
In another duel, Peruvian goalkeeper Pedro Gallese led Orlando City to a 5-6 penalty shootout victory over Mexican champion Toluca after the two sides played to a scoreless draw in regular time.
Gallese, the Blanquirroja’s starting goalkeeper, saved two shots in the shootout and was on target in the decisive round of the series to send his team to the semifinals, where they will meet Inter Miami, both from the MLS.
In the penalty shootout series, neither team missed their first five kicks. However, in the sixth, Gallese appeared to neutralize the Argentine Nicolás Castro’s penalty kick and the seventh, Juan Pablo Domínguez’s, after which he scored the definitive 5-6 that gave his team the pass.
Seattle Sounders and Puebla also played to a scoreless draw in regular time and the Americans won 4-3 on penalty kicks after Ricardo Marín and Chilean Nicolás Díaz missed for La Franja.
The Sounders will face the LA Galaxy in the semifinals, who defeated the Tuzos of Pachuca 2-1 in the last match of the day, thanks to an own goal by Daniel Aceves and a goal by German Marco Reus, which was only countered by Brazilian Alemao in stoppage time.
It is the second consecutive edition that the semifinals are made up of only MLS clubs in the tournament that distributes three spots for the CONCACAF Champions Cup, according to EFE.
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