Leagues Cup: Toluca and Monterrey will battle it out for the title

Toluca and Monterrey will face off on Sunday in the final of the Leagues Cup after defeating León 2-0 and América 5-4 on penalty kicks, respectively, on Wednesday in the semifinals held in the United States. In a debacle for the MLS, for the first time in the tournament's history, the semifinals were contested exclusively by Mexican teams.

Both the final between Toluca and Monterrey and the third-place match between León and América will be played on Sunday at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston, Texas.

MLS debacle 

In the first semifinal played between teams led by Argentine coaches at Shell Energy Stadium, Antonio Mohamed's Toluca defeated Javier Gandolfi's León 2-0. The Diablos Rojos reached the Leagues Cup final for the first time, a title they have yet to win under the leadership of "El Turco" Mohamed.

"We're in another final, and that's no easy feat," said Mohamed. "We were far superior to our opponent, who had practically no scoring chances, while we had plenty." This elimination ended La Fiera's eight-game unbeaten streak under Argentine coach Javier Gandolfi.

The 1-0 goal came off a corner kick in the 41st minute. Toluca took the corner from the right side, and after a couple of defensive clearances, Uruguayan defender Federico Pereira fired a shot from the edge of the box to score.

In the 69th minute, Toluca launched a counterattack. In the final third of the field, Uruguayan forward Federico Viñas combined with Jorge Díaz Price, and upon receiving the return pass, he sealed the 2-0 lead with a one-touch finish past the goalkeeper.

León finished the match with 10 players due to the ejection of Colombian defender Jhohan Romaña in the 75th minute for a second yellow card. For its part, Toluca saw Uruguayan defender Bruno Méndez sent off in the 89th minute, also on his second yellow card.

Almeyda, a final in three months

The second semifinal was played at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. After a 2-2 tie in regulation, the Rayados of Monterrey, led by Argentine coach Matías Almeyda, defeated the Águilas of América, coached by Uruguayan Guillermo Almada, 5-4 in a penalty shootout.

"Reaching a final in three months is putting us on the right track," said Almeyda, who took over as Monterrey's head coach in June. "Now we're going to face a winning team with a winning coach, they've been working together for a while. It's going to be a good final," he added.

Diego Rossi gave the Rayados a 1-0 lead on a fluke play. The Uruguayan sent in a cross from the right side, and the ball surprisingly looped over goalkeeper Rodolfo Cota. The 1-1 equalizer came in the 57th minute and was scored by defender Ramón Juárez, who filled the spot left vacant by Uruguayan Sebastián Cáceres, who had been signed by Celta de Vigo the day before.

Alan Cervantes made it 2-1 to complete the comeback in the 64th minute with a shot from outside the box that beat Argentine goalkeeper Esteban Andrada.

Argentine Lucas Ocampos tied the game at 2-2 a few minutes later with a penalty kick awarded after a controversial foul on Orbelín Pineda. "It's not a mistake, it's a disaster, the VAR decision that was supposed to help the referee but ended up being decisive in the outcome," Almada said.

The Uruguayan acknowledged that "our mistake was failing to capitalize on the chances we had to seal the game."

In the penalty shootout, Alan Cervantes missed for América and Belgian Hugo Cuypers scored the decisive kick for Monterrey.