Toluca, Tigres, Puebla, and León make their Leagues Cup 2025 debut: How did the Liga MX teams fare?

Four Mexican teams opened their Leagues Cup 2025 campaign with mixed results. Toluca prevailed on penalties after a draw with Columbus Crew , Tigres debuted with a clear victory over Houston Dynamo , León earned just one point against Montreal, and Puebla surprised everyone by beating New York City FC away.

Toluca salvages two points against Columbus Crew

Liga MX champion Toluca overcame a difficult start to defeat Columbus Crew on penalties after a 2-2 draw in regulation. Antonio Mohamed's team trailed from the 11th minute, when Uruguayan Diego Rossi converted a penalty. In the second half, Max Arfsten extended the home team's lead in the 48th minute.

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The Red Devils responded with two goals from Portuguese forward Paulinho , in the 71st and 79th minutes. The second was validated by VAR and equalized. Rossi himself had a chance to score for Columbus with another penalty in the 88th minute, but goalkeeper Luis García saved it.

In the penalty shootout, Toluca was more accurate. García saved two more shots—including one from Rossi —and the Mexican team earned the bonus point with a 4-2 victory. Toluca will face CF Montréal on August 1.

León loses on penalties and is at a disadvantage

In their opening match, León drew 1-1 with CF Montréal , but fell 7-6 in a penalty shootout. New signing Rogelio Funes Mori scored in the 11th minute after a cross from James Rodríguez . However, Prince Osei Owusu equalized for the Canadians in the 62nd minute. In the decisive shootout, Sebastián Santos missed his penalty in sudden death and missed the extra point.

With just one point, León must beat New York City FC in its next match if it wants to maintain its chances of advancing.

Puebla surprises with victory in New York

One of the most notable results was Puebla 's 3-0 defeat of New York City FC at the Red Bull Arena . The Mexican team took advantage of their effectiveness from the start: Juan Manuel Fedorco scored in the 2nd minute, Emiliano Gómez added another in the 38th, and Owen González sealed the score in the 88th.

In addition to his strong offensive performance, goalkeeper Jesús Rodríguez , known as "Araña," made key saves to keep a clean sheet. Puebla will face Columbus Crew in their second match.

Tigres start with a rout against Houston

Tigres UANL kicked off their campaign with a resounding 4-1 win over the Houston Dynamo , with a standout performance from their reinforcement, Ángel Correa , who scored two goals. The Argentine opened the scoring in first-half stoppage time. Although Ondřej Lingr briefly equalized, Diego Lainez , Correa himself, and Ozziel Herrera completed the rout for the Monterrey team.

Tigres will face San Diego FC , which includes Hirving Lozano , on August 1.

With these results, Tigres and Puebla lead their respective groups with three points. Toluca earned two points after their penalty shootout victory, while León faces a difficult situation with just one point. The competition will resume on August 1st with new decisive matches for the Liga MX clubs.