LAFC to face Club León in CCL final
Club León advanced to the CCL final on Wednesday night after moving past Tigres thanks to an outstanding performance that saw them recover from a 2-1 first-leg deficit to take the series 4-3. They’ll face LAFC in the final, which is scheduled for May 31 and June 4. LAFC will travel to Estadio León for the first leg before hosting the all-decisive second leg at BMO Stadium.
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There’s been so much CCL to talk about the last couple of weeks we haven’t really gotten time to check in on what’s going on around the rest of the league. Let’s catch up on some of the most notable news of recent times, starting with…uh…well, CCL.
Important note here: Not a Liga MX expert. I’m not even an MLS expert, but here I am on the 940th consecutive day of writing an MLS newsletter (not a joke) patiently waiting for the “make it” part of “fake it till you make it” to kick in. Any day now…
Anyway, the general sense of what happened in last night’s all-Liga MX semifinal is that Club León threw off a few haymakers and caught Tigres right in the mouth. Neither team has been all that outstanding in either Apertura or Clausura this season, but Tigres still seem to outspend León by a significant amount, Tigres still have more success over the last decade (including winning CCL in 2020), and Tigres still have plenty of talent. I think all that, plus the fact Tigres had a 2-1 lead heading into last night’s leg, gives us the go-ahead to call last night a bit of a shocker.
I think we also have the go-ahead to call LAFC the favorites. For one, LAFC have been a buzzsaw for a while now. Considering Tigres’ overall performance this season in comparison, we may have been writing this same thing even if they had won. But we’re talking about a León team that finished 10th in Apertura and sixth in Clausura. LAFC aren’t suddenly dealing with a juggernaut.
In fact, they’re kind of dealing with a team that has taken a comfy seat on the struggle bus against MLS teams as of late. At least in CCL. I vaguely remember them beating Seattle in a Leagues Cup final of some kind, but hand-to-god I can’t even remember what that competition looked like in 2021. Anyway, León have been knocked out of CCL by an MLS team every year since 2020, starting with a pre-pandemic loss to LAFC in the Round of 16. Then a Round of 16 loss to a makeshift Toronto team in 2021. Then a quarterfinal loss to Seattle last year. MLS teams have had their number. And they’ll be up against what’s probably the most talented group of the bunch.
The Timbers are in the midst of the kind of injury crisis we haven’t seen since…probably last year’s Atlanta United team? In the first half of an impressive win at St. Louis this weekend, the Timbers lost 20-year-old U22 initiative midfielder David Ayala to an ACL tear. The injury will keep him out for the year along with fellow Portland midfielder, Eryk Williamson, who tore his ACL back in early April.
It seemed from afar like Ayala was starting to seize his moment a bit. The young midfielder had been putting in some solid shifts in an area of critical need for the Timbers after Williamson went down. It’s a bummer in general, but it’s even worse considering it’s a trend. If I have this right, every single central midfielder save for Diego Chara has missed time due to injury this season? That’s not even mentioning injuries to Yimmi Chara, Felipe Mora, multiple goalkeepers and I’m sure a few others that a Timbers beat writer would probably know better than the national newsletter guy.
It’s rough. And over the course of 24 more games this season, plus Leagues Cup and Open Cup, it’s going to be a tough ask for the universal powers that be to keep everyone else on the team continuously healthy. The Timbers can’t catch a break right now and it’s going to be a tall task to stay afloat the rest of the way.
They did it! Nashville finally did it!
Although, I’m not sure how much we should actually be celebrating an accomplishment that’s nothing more than the end of…[ahem]...maybe the biggest failure in MLS history? I don't think there’s ever been a worse signing. There just can’t have been. Loba came to Nashville for a reported club-record $6.8 million transfer fee and made two more starts for Nashville SC than I have. He’s taken up what’s essentially an empty DP spot since 2021 on a team whose most notable flaw has been the lack of an effective DP No. 9.
But now he’s officially out. Loba and Nashville agreed to a mutual contract termination on Monday. And Nashville, mercifully, have a DP spot open again. Now they get to try this again in the summer.
Will they get it right this time? I don’t know. Plenty of teams don’t. But if they do, this Nashville team may be set to take the kind of leap forward we’ve been looking for them to take ever since Hany Mukhtar turned into one of the best players in the league. They’re playing some excellent soccer as of late and a truly effective No. 9 could take them from “I dunno play defense and get the ball to Hany” to a true contender for trophies.
New York Red Bulls sign Mali youth international midfielder: The New York Red Bulls have signed Mali youth international midfielder Ronald Donkor through the 2026 MLS season with an option for 2027. The deal was completed before the Primary Transfer Window closed on April 24. Donkor will occupy an international roster spot in New York.
D.C. United's Benteke wins Goal of the Matchday: D.C. United striker Christian Benteke has won his first AT&T 5G Goal of the Week award since coming to MLS last summer from English Premier League side Crystal Palace.
- Casey Dunau has the story of St. Louis CITY's new dog-friendly seating.
- Jonathan Sigal took a look at which MLS stars could feature at FIFA U-20 World Cup.
- Matt Doyle let you in on what he’s watching for in MLS Matchday 11.
- The good folks at Extratime discussed Dylan Borrero’s injury and how it impacts New England going forward.
- Carlos Bocanegra addressed Thiago Almada's potential transfer and Miles Robinson's future.
Good luck out there. Start preparing.
