LAFC Takes Commanding First Leg Lead; Defeats Cruz Azul 3-0
MLS Los Angeles FC

LAFC Takes Commanding First Leg Lead; Defeats Cruz Azul 3-0

Published on April 8, 2026 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Los Angeles FC News Release


LAFC remained unbeaten to open 2026 and equalled its biggest-ever win over Mexican opposition, beating Cruz Azul 3-0 in the first leg of its Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16 series at BMO Stadium on Tuesday night. Son Heung-Min opened the scoring in the 30th minute before David Martínez added goals on either side of halftime to give LAFC a three-goal advantage heading into the second leg of the Quarterfinal in Mexico next week.

The second leg between the two sides will be played at Estadio Cuauhtémoc in Puebla, Mexico on Tuesday, April 14. An LAFC win, draw, or loss by fewer than three goals in that game will see the club advance to the Champions Cup Semifinals for the third time in club history and the first time since 2023.

Son Heung-Min opened the scoring for LAFC in the 30th minute, racing into the box to get on the end of a Mathieu Choinière cross to make the score 1-0. The goal was Son's first of the year at BMO Stadium and snapped a streak of nine consecutive games without a goal for the Korean international, dating back to the first leg of the Champions Cup First Round series against Real España in Honduras on February 17.

Nine minutes later, Choinière set up his second goal of the game, playing a long ball from inside his own half for Martínez, who was streaking down the right wing. Martínez, who scored the Round of 16 series-deciding goal against Alajuelense last month, held off the challenge of a Cruz Azul defender before slotting a left-footed shot under goalkeeper Kevin Mier, sending LAFC into the halftime break with a 2-0 advantage.

Just before the hour mark, Martínez scored his second of the game and fourth of the competition, collecting a pass from Son on the midfield stripe and running at the Cruz Azul defense. He cut between three defenders before placing a low, left-footed shot into the corner of the net to make the score 3-0.

The score would remain that way until the final whistle as the LAFC defense continued its stellar play, keeping a clean sheet for the eighth time in 11 games in all competitions this year. The club is now 9-0-2 in MLS and Concacaf play this year, outscoring opponents 27-3 in those 11 games.

The Black & Gold will be back in action on Saturday, April 11, when the club travels north to take on the Portland Timbers at Providence Park. That game kicks off at 1:30 p.m. PT and can be seen on Apple TV and FOX, with radio coverage available on 710 AM ESPN, the ESPN LA app, KYPA 1230 AM [Korean], and 980 AM La Mera Mera [Spanish].

NOTES

With the win, LAFC remains unbeaten in all competitions in 2026, improving to 9-0-2 while outscoring opponents 27-3.

The 11 game unbeaten streak to open a year is an LAFC record.

In all competitions this year, LAFC is now 6-0-1 at home, keeping a clean sheet in six of those seven games.

LAFC has not allowed a goal in the last 356 minutes in all competitions, dating back to a 4th minute goal for Alajuelense on March 17.

This is the second time this year that LAFC has kept three consecutive clean sheets this year.

With the win, LAFC is now 4-4-0 all-time against Liga MX clubs in Concacaf play, including 2-1-0 at BMO Stadium. Both of those wins have come by 3-0 scorelines, with LAFC also beating Leon 3-0 in the 2019 Round of 16 in order to advance 3-2 on aggregate.

LAFC is now 2-0-0 all-time against Cruz Azul, having also beaten the club in the 2020 Champions League Quarterfinals in Orlando. Next week's second leg in Mexico will be the first time that LAFC has visited Mexico to play a team other than Leon in Concacaf play.

All-time, LAFC is 14-8-2 in Concacaf play, including 8-2-1 at BMO Stadium.

With his two goals on the evening, David Martínez joins Denis Bouanga and Carlos Vela as the only players in LAFC history to score multiple goals in a Concacaf match. Vela achieved the feat twice in 2020 and once in 2023, while Bouanga did so twice in 2023, once in 2025, and once so far this year.

Martínez is now tied with Bouanga for the second-most goals in the 2026 Champions Cup with four. Only the LA Galaxy's Gabriel Pec has scored more.

Son Heung-Min's 30th minute goal snapped a nine-game goal-scoring drought for the Korean international. Prior to that streak, he had never gone more than three straight games without a goal in his LAFC career.

In the nine games in which Son did not score a goal, he recorded eight assists.

Mathieu Choinière assisted on each of LAFC's first two goals of the game. These were his first two assists in all competitions for LAFC this year. He is now tied with Mark Delgado for second on the team in assists in the Champions Cup, behind only Son Heung-Min, who has four.

Six LAFC players; Denis Bouanga, David Martínez, Nathan Ordaz, Son Heung-Min, Nkosi Tafari, and Timothy Tillman, have appeared in all five of the club's Champions Cup games this year. Of that group, Bouanga, Son, Tafari, and Tillman have started all five contests while Tafari is the only one to play the full 90 minutes in each of the five games.

Check out the Los Angeles FC Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Major League Soccer Stories from April 8, 2026


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central