Mexican giants Club America suffered a surprise exit from the Leagues Cup at the hands of Major League Soccer’s Colorado Rapids leaving the tournament with no teams from Liga MX in the last four.
In the semi-finals of the joint Liga MX-MLS tournament reigning MLS champions Columbus Crew will face the Philadelphia Union while the Rapids will face Los Angeles FC.
America, the most decorated team in Mexico, were playing a ‘home’ game in Carson, California, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy and attracted thousands of Mexican-American supporters to back them.
But they were left disappointed after their goalless draw, with few chances for either team, went to a shoot-out which the Rapids won 9-8. The marathon shoot-out ended up in sudden death with both teams’ goalkeepers taking kicks and after Colorado’s Zack Steffen slotted home, Luis Malagon scuffed his effort wide.
The other Mexican club in the last eight, Mazatlan, also exited via a shoot-out, losing at the Philadelphia Union. Philadelphia had found themselves a man down just before half-time when forward Tai Baribo was harshly sent off for a second yellow card offense. But two minutes later, Danish forward Mikael Uhre put the Union ahead when he broke down the left and cut inside before finishing with a deft chip over Mazatlan keeper Ricardo Gutierrez.