Two Liga MX teams that know each other very well, face off on the pitch for a ticket to the Round of 16 of the Leagues Cup, as Cruz Azul and Mazatlan FC look to reach one step closer to conquering the trophy on Tuesday at Audi Field at 8:00 p.m. ET on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.
Cruz Azul has had a very interesting tournament so far as they are yet to win a game in 90 minutes, but penalty shots have worked in their favor. They advanced out of East 4 after having two draws, one against Charlotte FC in their opening game and another one against Philadelphia Union; they dropped the first round of shots from 12 yards but won the second one to secure second place in the group.
Los Cementeros survived their Round of 32 matchup after a tough no-score draw in regulation against Orlando City SC. The game was extended into penalty kicks and in sudden death a Kevin Mier save helped the Mexican team win the game 5-4 to advance. The goalkeeper will be key in this upcoming game.
Mazatlan on the other hand did not start off with the right foot in East 5, as they lost a close game to New England Revolution 1-0 but then bounced back and what a way to do it; they dominated Nashville SC for a 2-0 victory advancing to the knockout stage as runner up of the group.
Once again, their game plan execution stood out in the Round of 32 against a very tough DC United team. They took advantage of a red card shown to Jared Stroud early in the game and then two quick goals in that very same first half set the tone for the rest of the way for a 2-1 win.
Both Liga MX teams want to set their names in stone and win the Leagues Cup trophy, looking for a huge victory that would put them in the quarter-finals of the most important North American tournament, one that is missing on their list of accomplishments.
