The Galaxy kicked off their Leagues Cup tournament on the right foot with Thursday’s 5-2 win over Club Tijuana.
Sunday bring another challenge from Mexico in Cruz Azul, the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup winner.
Aside from that, the Galaxy will probably face a hungry and angry Cruz Azul, especially since they were handed a 7-0 blowout loss by the Seattle Sounders in their Leagues Cup opener.
“They’re (Cruz Azul) a very good team, they just got on the wrong side of a day. It can happen,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “They gave up a couple of set piece goals, then a deflection goal and the game started to get away from them. They have a unique and interesting style where they get very man-to-man through the course of the field.
“So it’ll be an interesting challenge for us to again solve the challenges and the problems of the day, when we have the ball, and make sure we do a better job of managing space and numbers and things as we defend against another good team, with good players who can hurt us. I think they’re going to come back and with pride. It wasn’t that long ago, where we took seven (goals in a 7-0 loss against New York Red Bulls, May 10) and what it meant for our group to come out fighting the next game and just trying to come out and make sure we put out the right effort and right fight for ourselves. I imagine it will be very similar for them.”
After their opening win, the Galaxy moved up to third place in the MLS Leagues Cup standings. The top four teams in each the MLS and Liga MX standings will advance to the quarterfinals later this month. The Galaxy will conclude their opening round of games Thursday against Santos Laguna.
“I still think it’s going to take at least two wins and potentially something else, a draw with a shootout win (worth two points),” Vanney said. “I’m not sure six (points) is going to do it. It’s fun because each of these games has a little something riding on it.
Cruz Azul finished second in last year’s Clasura Tournament in Mexico and has a win and two draws through the first three games of this year’s Apertura Tournament.
“Certainly in their league, they play different ways than we do,” Galaxy midfielder Edwin Cerrillo said. “You have to be aware and ready. You never know how these Mexican teams are going to play us, so we just have to be ready for that. And knowing that it’s a competition where everybody wants to win, every play is important.”
For Cerrillo, 24, having a chance to play against Liga MX teams brings him back to his childhood.
“Growing up, it was always Club America,” he said. “My dad was a big fan. He loved Cuauhtémoc Blanco. nearly every weekend there was a party at my house, we’re taking the TV outside and we had like three or four families together, with like 15 kids running around, all to watch the game.”
CRUZ AZUL at GALAXY
When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday
Where: Dignity Health Sports Park
How to watch: Apple TV (MLS Season Pass)
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