Galaxy 4-0 Santos Laguna, Leagues Cup: LA Qualify For Quarter-finals

The LA Galaxy struck four past Mexican side Santos Laguna in their final game of the group phase of the Leagues Cup to seal a quarter-final place.

The Galaxy, who were fifth in the group stage on four points heading into this decider, netted three before half-time, having opened the scoring after just one minute thanks to a tap-in from Joseph Paintsil.

Santos Laguna, who sat bottom of their group on zero points, conceded a second and third in quick succession when Matheus Nascimento was on the end of a Mauricio Cuevas cross, before Maya Yoshida tapped into an open net following a goalkeeping mishap.

Despite Greg Vanney’s Galaxy enduring a dismal domestic campaign, propping up the Western Conference in MLS, they have given themselves reason for optimism with their Leagues Cup form, with Nascimento rounding off the scoring in the 74th minute.

CF Pachuca now await the MLS Cup holders in the quarter-finals.

Elsewhere, FC Cincinnati lost 2-1 to Chivas Guadalajara at the TQL Stadium, in a game that was delayed by around an hour and a half due to a thunderstorm in the area.

Chivas took the lead through an Efrain Alvarez penalty in the 25th minute and added a second goal through Armando Gonzalez in the 57th minute.

Cincinnati pulled one back when debutant Andres Davila scored shortly after coming on as a substitute, becoming the eighth player in club history to score on their debut, though they could not force an equaliser.

Penalties decided the result between the New York Red Bulls and FC Juarez after a tense 1-1 draw at Sports Illustrated Stadium, with Dylan Nealis scoring for the Red Bulls in the 47th minute before Oscar Estupinan equalised for Juarez late on. Ultimately, the Red Bulls prevailed 5-3, but it was not enough to see them survive the group phase.

Sergio Ramos' Monterrey fell to a 2-0 home defeat to Charlotte FC, thanks to goals from Tyger Smalls and Bill Tuiloma in the second half.

The loss consigned the Liga MX side to a winless Leagues Cup campaign, having drawn two and lost one.

In perhaps the most end-to-end game of the evening, the Colorado Rapids faced off against Cruz Azul, playing out a 2-2 draw before Cruz Azul clinched victory via penalties.

The Rapids' Rafael Navarro opened the scoring early on, and Andreas Maxso added a second from a well-executed free kick, but the Mexican side fought back to force a shoot-out, though their 5-4 success from the spot was not enough to clinch a top-four place.