Leagues Cup: Atlas, Pachuca and Pumas on brink of elimination on another tough day for Liga MX

It was another tough night for Liga MX in the Leagues Cup left the Mexican teams Atlas, Pachuca and Pumas on the brink of elimination. Canadian team Vancouver Whitecaps is in a similar situation, suffering its second loss of the tournament to Juárez. After four days of competition between the two major North American leagues, the MLS leads with 14 wins to Liga MX's nine.

Since Argentine Hernán Crespo took over as head coach of Atlas, the Guadalajara-based team has suffered three losses: one in the domestic league and these two in the Leagues Cup, where it remains winless. For its part, Charlotte reached six points after defeating Crespo's “Zorros” 2-0.

"I am completely calm, knowing that as time goes on and we have the opportunity to train, the team will play well. How long will it take? I don't know," said the Argentine coach in remarks reported by AFP. "In the meantime, we have to stay calm and patient, trying to play the kind of soccer we like—which we do at times—and trying to avoid the unforced errors that are costing us dearly," he added.

Israel's Liel Abada put the U.S. team ahead 1-0 in the 78th minute with a shot from inside the six-yard box. Englishman Tyger Smalls (90'+5) sealed the 2-0 victory by finishing off a counterattack with the goalkeeper off the field.

Crew strikes again

Pachuca, meanwhile, lost 2-1 to the Columbus Crew at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field in Columbus. With its second win, the MLS team reached six points, while the “Tuzos” remain winless.

Spaniard Brais Méndez (19') scored the 1-0 goal for the Crew with a flashy kick from the edge of the six-yard box, and the 2-0 goal was scored by the Hungarian Daniel Gazdag (45+3') with a point-blank header.

The “Tuzos” pulled one back through Dutchman Oussama Idrissi (72'), but two minutes later they saw Argentine defender Sergio Barreto sent off and were unable to avoid the defeat that leaves them virtually out of contention.

Poor finishing dooms Pumas

The Pumas also suffered their second loss and fell to the bottom of the Mexican league table after losing 2-0 to Cincinnati at TQL Stadium, with goals scored in each half.

"The match was very even, and at times we were in control," said Argentine Esteban Solari, coach of the Pumas. "We created nine scoring chances, they had six, and they ended up scoring two goals, while we couldn't find the back of the net," he summarized.

With left-footed shots, Czech player Pavel Bucha (45'+3) and Frenchman Kenji Mboma Dem (90'+1) scored the goals for Cincinnati, which now has six points.

Tigres wins again on penalties

The Mexican teams' streak of three consecutive losses was snapped in the fourth match with a 4-2 victory for Tigres in a penalty shootout after a scoreless draw in 90 minutes against Minnesota United at Allianz Field.

In the penalty shootout, the Mexican team missed one attempt. The U.S. team had two misses. Tigres have won both of their Leagues Cup matches on penalty kicks and now have four points. The American side earned its first point.

Bravos at the bottom of Liga MX, but leading Leagues Cup

While in the Mexican league the Bravos de Juárez are at the bottom of the standings, in the Leagues Cup they arrived as leaders with six points in the Liga MX table after coming from behind to defeat the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 at BC Place Stadium.

Jeevan Madwal (12') scored the goal for the Canadian team, which remains without any points. Ettson Ayón (34'), Colombian player Óscar Estupiñán (74') and Portuguese player Ricardinho (90'+6) secured the victory for the Mexican squad.