Securing a 1-1 draw late in the second leg, LAFC knocked out defending champion Cruz Azul 4-1 on aggregate to advance to the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals on Tuesday evening at Estadio Cuauhtémoc. The Black & Gold are now 4-0-2 in the tournament this year, and will face the winner of the quarterfinal matchup between the L.A. Galaxy and Toluca.
Toluca currently holds a 4-2 advantage on aggregate and will travel to Carson for the second leg on Wednesday evening. The semifinal round is set to begin in two weeks, with first leg matches taking place between April 28 and April 30.
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LAFC put forth a strong defensive effort led by goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who made eight saves in the victory. Cruz Azul put 10 shots on goal, but L.A. was able to battle through a long and physical match, surrendering just a single score.
Lloris put forth the performance of the match for LAFC, making numerous clutch saves to keep Cruz Azul from clawing any closer. L.A. played the majority of the night on the defensive, forcing the 39-year-old into constant action.
It was Gabriel Fernandez’s penalty kick in the 18th minute that gave Azul its lone goal. The penalty was awarded after Sergi Palencia made contact with Fernandez as he attempted to receive a cross in the box.
LAFC managed to get on the board in the final minute of stoppage time with a penalty of its own when a shot from Jacob Shaffelburg made contact with the lower arm of Azul defender Willer Ditta. Denis Bouanga stepped up and drilled his fifth goal of the tournament past goalkeeper Kevin Mier to ice the win.
Just minutes earlier, Bouanga went down on a hard tackle from Azul defender Gonzalo Piovi, who was shown a red card. There were 31 total fouls in the match, with eight yellow cards shown. With one of the yellow cards issued to Bouanga, he will be suspended for the first leg of the semifinals.
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The Black & Gold will return to MLS play on Sunday afternoon, hosting the San Jose Earthquakes. At 6-1-0, San Jose currently holds second place in the Western Conference, but lost both regular season matches against Los Angeles in the 2025 regular season.
Kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. PT.
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