With a certain South Florida club and their new superstar Argentine signing soaking up all the attention at Leagues Cup, LAFC entered the competition Wednesday night with arguably less fanfare than usual.
So much for that.
The spotlight is now back on the 2022 MLS Cup-Supporters’ Shield double winners after their ruthless display in a 7-1 Round-of-32 thumping of Liga MX side FC Juárez at BMO Stadium.
The hosts were in devastating form – most notably star Designated Players Dénis Bouanga and Carlos Vela, who scored a hat trick and brace, respectively. Ryan Hollingshead opened the scoring, while homegrown Nathan Ordaz put the finishing touches on a result that firmly places the Black & Gold in the conversation for tournament favorites.
“It is our ambition to go as far as possible in this tournament and, who knows, possibly win,” head coach Steve Cherundolo said after LAFC’s near-perfect debut following their group-stage bye as defending MLS champions.
Concern for Vela
The only stain on the night? Vela’s 69th-minute exit with an unspecified injury that could jeopardize his presence in the club’s Round-of-16 match against the winner of Thursday’s Club León-Real Salt Lake showdown (10:30 pm ET | Apple TV - MLS Season Pass, FS1, UniMás).
Cherundolo was tight-lipped about the health of his captain, who scored two stunning golazos in a vintage performance from the 2019 Landon Donovan MLS MVP.
“I unfortunately do not know anything about Carlos,” the second-year coach stated. “… We’ll report when we can.”
With or without Vela, the Black & Gold still boast Bouanga – himself an MLS MVP candidate in 2023 who’s now scored a hat trick in three different competitions this season – and the confidence of knowing they can go toe-to-toe with just about anybody at the tournament.
Plus, it just so happens a possible rematch awaits with León, who beat LAFC in the two-legged Concacaf Champions League final that took place in late May and early June. That heartbreaking loss had a ripple effect on their league form, and they’ve posted a 3W-5L-3D record since then – after they'd cruised through the first part of the season.
However, Cherundolo was quick to dismiss any notion that the Black & Gold will have vengeance on their mind should they end up facing their international bogeymen.
“It’s a great team. But by no means do we use what happened in the Champions League final as a source of motivation or revenge. It’s a different competition,” he said.
What does motivate Cherundolo is his team's dominant showing after a two-week pause in action as LAFC sat out the Leagues Cup group stage.
"I was hoping for that reaction tonight," Cherudolo said. "With the exception of the first 15 minutes, they were fully there, engaged and hungry to score goals and get a positive result. And they did great."
