On Tuesday, August 5th, 2025, LAFC beat Tigres at home in BMO Stadium in an exciting match for the third and final game for Phase One of Leagues Cup 2025. The young Venezuelan David Martinez scored both goals for LAFC in their 2-1 victory. He scored a penalty kick at the 31st minute and then at the 64th minute scored a breakaway goal outrunning Tigres defenders down the west sideline before kicking the ball under the Argentinean Tigres keeper Nahuel Guzman.

The Mexican-Americans Frankie Amaya, Adam Saldaña, and Mark Delgado all played in this cross-border rivalry. The two teams last played in 2023 for the Campeones Cup where LAFC lost 2-4 in penalty kicks following a 0-0 tie. I analyzed the game focusing on Frankie Amaya and how he positioned himself respective to the ball. At minute 27 he charged from midfield in pursuit of his teammate Artem Smoliakov and was rewarded with backwards pass. Amaya responded with a shot towards goal that was blocked by a Tigres defender. It was fun watching the play develop as I tracked his movement without the ball. His teammate Adam Saldana received a yellow card at the 44th minute and was replaced at halftime with Mark Delgado.

LAFC gave themselves an improbable opportunity to advance to the Phase Two of Leagues Cup and will have to wait for the results from the remaining games in the round that will determine their fate. Leagues Cup 2025 matches have become stages for American and Mexican teams to contend in international rivalry. Games like the one between LAFC and Tigres have become contentious, pushing matches have broken out, and players are scoring highlight reel goals. In this context, Los Angeles soccer fans are the winners.