🔬 The Debrief as Leagues Cup knockouts begin with two MLS exits | OneFootball

More Leagues Cup action continued on Wednesday as the Round of 32 kicked off with two scheduled games. Here is what went down.

What happened

Major League Soccer clubs from the Western Conference were in action as the giants prevailed, and a Liga MX side also won bragging rights.

Supporters’ Shield contenders Los Angeles FC managed to beat rivals Austin FC 2-0 despite only 34% of the ball and three shots on target. Tournament top scorer Kike Oliviera came off the bench to secure the victory.

Meanwhile, up in Canada, Pumas made the trip to BC Place and walked away with a 2-0 win. The Whitecaps may have pulled off a comeback to reach the knockouts but couldn’t do it again to stay alive.

Moment of the night

After an already eye-catching tournament, Pumas goalkeeper Julio José González pulled off some outrageous acrobatics to hand his side a massive confidence boost.

Fafa Picault’s cross found Levonte Johnson in the box but the forward’s darting volley was cleared away thanks to a diving save. Immediately after, Pumas opened the scoring and then doubled their lead after the break.

Player of the night

This honour goes to one Hugo Lloris. With fellow Frenchman Olivier Giroud in the house, the goalkeeper made sure to put on a show.

He first provided a visionary assist for Denis Bouanga to score LAFC’s opener before he matched the above goalkeeping heroics with a diving save of his own.

What this means

It means the Whitecaps have suffered back-to-back Round of 32 exits, and they will want star player Ryan Gauld back in action as quickly as possible.

Austin exits the tournament having not defeated their third giant in as many games. However, those victories over Pumas and Monterrey won’t be forgotten.

LAFC will continue their pursuit of battling Inter Miami for another title, while Pumas will see this win as a way to kickstart their confidence after only scraping into the knockouts.

What comes next

More Leagues Cup action continues on Thursday as holders Inter Miami kick things off against Toronto FC before another three games take centre stage. Tigres and LA Galaxy are notably in the mix.

Feature image credit: © Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports